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THE  FRENCH  WAR 


AND 

THE  REVOLUTION 


THE  AMERICAN  HISTORY  SERIES 


Five  volumes , 12 mo,  with  maps  and  plans. 


THE  COLONIAL  ERA.— By  Rev.  George  P.  Fisher, 
D.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  in 
Yale  University.  $1.25. 

THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION. -By 
William  M.  Sloane,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  History  in 
Princeton  University.  $1.25. 

THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION.— By  Gen.  Francis 
A.  Walker,  President  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute 
of  Technology.  $1.25. 

THE  MIDDLE  PERIOD.— By  John  W.  Bcrges9,  Pro- 
fessor of  History,  Political  Science,  and  International 
Law  in  Columbia  University.  $1.75. 

THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION.— By  John 
W.  Burgess,  Professor  of  History,  Political  Science,  and 
International  Law  in  Columbia  University.  In  Press. 


THE  AMERICAN  HISTORY  SERIES 


THE  FRENCH  WAR 

AND 

THE  REVOLUTION 


WILLIAM  MILLIGAN  SLOANE,  Ph.D.,  L.H.D. 

PROFESSOR  IN  PRINCETON  UNIVERSITY 


a 

WITH  MAPS 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER’S  SONS 
1901 


Copyright,  1S9S,  by 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER’S  SONS 


TROW  DIRECTORY 

PRINTING  AND  BOOKBINDING  COMPANY 


DEDICATED 


WITH  GRATEFUL  DEVOTION 
TO 

MAKY  ESPY  SLOANE 


Ho'35'^ 


« ' - J i 


PREFACE 


This  book  is  the  second  of  a series  of  four,  each  of 
which,  while  complete  in  itself,  is  to  form  part  of  a con- 
nected history  of  the  United  States  down  to  our  own 
time.  The  limits  of  this  volume  are  the  years  1756  and 
1783.  This  period  has  a unity  in  many  ways.  From 
the  beginning  of  the  “old  French  War”  to  the  end  of 
the  Revolution  the  English  commonwealths  in  America 
were  both  learning  the  necessity  of  union  and  growing 
conscious  of  a common  destiny.  It  might  even  be  said 
that  while  in  one  of  the  two  conflicts  they  were  hostile  to 
France  and  in  the  other  allied  with  her  yet  nevertheless 
such  a connection  is  in  itself  substantive.  Both  illus- 
trate phases  of  French  history.  A still  stronger  mark 
of  the  epoch  is  the  continuous  development  in  action 
of  common  exertion  for  the  common  welfare.  But  the 
strongest  and  most  philosophical  unity  is  in  the  evolu- 
tion of  a new  theory  of  government  during  these  years 
by  the  application  of  English  principles  to  American  con- 
ditions. The  author  hopes  that  while  the  narrative  in 
the  following  pages  is  necessarily  brief  it  is  full  enough 
to  illustrate  this  essential  conception  in  American  his- 
tory. 

The  colonies,  united  in  discontent  by  a general  military 


vm 


PREFACE 


control,  nevertheless  combine  in  measure  to  loyally  fight 
the  American  portion  of  the  Seven  Years’  War,  and  by 
their  victory  free  themselves  both  from  fear  of  Indian 
savagery  and  the  menace  of  a hostile  French  civilization. 
Thus  emancipated,  their  next  concern  is  commercial  lib- 
erty and  freedom  of  trade.  To  this  end  is  formed,  first, 
the  idea  of  allegiance,  not  to  Parliament  but  to  the  Crown, 
as  the  expression  of  sovereignty  ; then  the  notion  of  rep- 
resentation as  the  necessary  antecedent  of  internal  taxa- 
tion, a concept  which,  in  the  form  of  No  representation 
no  taxation,  awakens  the  interest  of  English  liberals  and 
produces  eventually  a new  idea  of  representation.  The 
next  stage  destroys  the  false  distinction  between  imperial 
and  internal  taxation,  displays  the  impossibility  of  Amer- 
ican representation  in  Parliament,  and  announces  the  new 
doctrine  of  No  representation  no  legislation.  The  col- 
lapse of  the  colonial  governments  in  the  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence necessitates  the  substitution  of  new  ones,  very 
like  the  old,  but  different  in  one  essential  feature,  which 
contains  the  germ  of  what  is  called  congressional,  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  parliamentary,  government.  This  is  the 
erection  of  the  executive  on  one  hand  into  an  active 
power  in  government,  and  on  the  other  into  a regulative 
force  in  controlling  legislation.  That  the  governor  may 
not  be  tyrannical  he  must  be  elective,  and  thereby  di- 
rectly responsible  to  the  people.  This  device  was  in  the 
following  period  applied  in  federal  as  well  as  state  gov- 
ernment. 

The  chief  end  of  this  volume  is  to  present  a reasoned 
account  of  all  the  facts.  During  my  studies  I have  had 
access  to  many  original  sources,  some  of  them  unpub- 


PREFACE 


IX 


lisliecl  copies  from  the  English  and  French  archives.  At 
the  same  time  I have  diligently  used  the  results  of  trust- 
worthy investigators  wherever  found. 

The  ever-present  question  in  writing  a book  like  this 
is  how  best  to  present  the  subject  as  a whole,  and  it  will 
be  found  that  many  details  not  essential  to  the  central 
idea  have  been  omitted. 


Pbinceton,  January,  1893. 


I 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGB 

The  English  People  in  the  Eighteenth  Century— 1688- 
1756 1 

Nature  of  the  European  Struggle — Position  of  the  Powers — 
Changes  in  English  Politics — Party  Struggles — Gains  and 
Losses  in  Public  Morality — Pitt  and  Wesley — Influences 
in  America  — Character  of  Colonial  Civilization  — The 
Americans  as  Political  and  Religious  Dissenters — Danger- 
ous Elements  in  the  Population. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Institutions  of  the  English  Colonies— 1688-1756,  . 10 

Influence  of  the  English  Revolution — The  Colonial  Govern- 
ments— Political  and  Legal  Speculation — Political  Theory 
— Contemporary  Speculation  in  Europe — The  Free-think- 
ers of  England — Roman  Catholic  Disabilities  — Scotcli- 
Irish  Presbyterians — Irish  Emigration  to  the  Continent — 
Influence  of  the  Protestant  Irish  in  America  — Roman 
Catholics  in  America  — Causes  of  American  Loyalty  — 
France  in  America— The  Fisheries  Question. 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  English  and  French  in  North  America— 1688-1756,  22 

The  Mississippi  Valley — French  Possessions  and  Ambitions 
— Continental  Lines  of  Communication — Contrast  between 
the  Strength  and  Aims  of  England  and  France— Diver- 
gent Institutions  of  the  Two  Peoples — The  Conflict  to  be 


xii 


CONTENTS 


Decided  in  America — Preparatory  Negotiations  and  Meas- 
ures—The  Aborigines  of  the  South— The  Algonquins  and 
Iroquois — Their  Institutions  and  Religion — Their  Charac- 
ter and  Domestic  Economy— Their  Relations  to  the  Colo- 
nists— Indian  Alliances — Character  of  English  Intercourse 
with  the  Red  Men — William  Johnson  and  the  Iroquois — 
Summary  of  the  Situation. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Outbreak  of  the  French  and  Indian  War— 1755-1756,  . 38 

European  Complications  — The  Combination  against  Fred- 
erick the  Great — The  Newcastle  Ministry — General  Brad- 
dock — French  Preparations — Demand  for  Colonial  Taxa- 
tion— The  English  Regulars  and  American  Militia — Brad- 
dock’s  Advance — The  French  and  Indian  Ambuscade — 

The  Battle  — Defeat  of  the  Expedition — Acadia — Treat- 
ment of  the  French  Farmers — Capture  of  the  French 
Forts — Dispersion  of  the  Natives — Fort  Niagara — John- 
son's Successes — Fort  William  Henry — Plans  for  Taxing 
America. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Successes  of  the  French  and  Indians — 1756-1758,  . 52 

English  Inactivity — Montcalm  and  the  French  Leaders — 
Capture  of  Oswego  by  the  French- — Armstrong  ejects  the 
Indians  from  Kittanning — Winter  Warfare — Plan  against 
Louisburg  Abandoned — Outrages  of  Montcalm’s  Indians 
— The  Massacre  at  Fort  William  Henry — Results  of  In- 
trigue in  Canada — Partisan  Activity — Loudon  Recalled — 

Pitt  in  Power— His  Influence  and  Plans — Amherst,  Howe, 
and  Wolfe. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Successes  of  the  English  and  Americans — 1758-1759,  . 62 

England  and  Prussia  as  Allies — Success  of  Frederick  and 
Pitt — Influence  of  Prussian  Success  in  America — Fall  of 
Louisburg  — Pitt  Arouses  American  Enthusiasm  — Aber- 
crombie befortr  Ticonderoga  — Topography — Death  of 
Howe — Montcalm’s  Preparations — Failure  of  the  Attack — 


CONTENTS 


xili 


Retreat  of  Abercrombie — Recapture  of  Oswego  — Effect 
of  the  Success  — The  Middle  Colonies  and  Forbes’s  Ex- 
pedition— Washington  and  Bouquet  — Defeat  at  Grant’s 
Hill  — Illness  of  Forbes  — Weakness  of  the  Garrison  at 
Fort  Duquesne— Advance  of  Washington  and  Armstrong 
—Seizure  of  Fort  Duquesne— Pitt’s  Monument. 

CHAPTER  YH. 

Niagara  and  Quebec— 1759, 75 

Quarrels  and  Disaffection  among  the  French — Course  of  the 
War  in  Europe— The  Height  of  England’s  Military  Gran- 
deur—Pitt's  Plan  for  the  Campaign  in  America — Wolfe — 
Enthusiasm  in  the  Colonies — Capture  of  Niagara— Impor- 
tant Results — Evacuation  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point 
by  the  French — Futility  of  Amherst’s  Campaign — Mont- 
calm at  Quebec — Measures  of  Defence — The  English  Fleet 
in  the  St.  Lawrence — Disposition  of  the  Land  Forces — 
French  Fire-ships — Desultory  Operations  during  July — 
Wolfe  at  the  Falls  of  Montmorency— Defeat  of  the  English 
— Movements  during  August — The  Plan  for  Scaling  the 
Heights  of  Abraham. 

CHAPTER  YHI. 

The  Plains  of  Abraham— 1759-1760,  ....  89 

Movement  of  the  English — French  Precaution — Feints  and 
Alarms  — Wolfe's  Preparations  for  Landing — His  Presenti- 
ment of  Death — Wolfe’s  Cove  and  the  Heights  of  Abraham 
— Preparations  for  Battle — The  French  Unready — Mont- 
calm Bewildered — The  Battle — Death  of  the  two  Leaders 
— Surrender  of  Quebec — Operations  during  the  Winter — 

Ste.  Foy — Relief  of  Quebec  by  the  English  Fleet — Canada 
Conquered. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Peace  of  Paris— 1760-1763, 99 

Affairs  in  the  Southern  Colonies — Expedition  against  the 
Cherokees — New  Territory  Opened  for  Settlement — In- 
dian Discontent — Revolt  of  Pontiac — Relief  of  Detroit  and 


CONTENTS 


N1V 


PAGE 

Suppression  of  the  Rebellion — Naval  Supremacy  of  Eng- 
land— The  War  Continued  in  Germany — Death  of  George 
II. — Accession  of  George  III. — His  Character  and  Policy — 

Pitt  and  Frederick  the  Great — Fall  of  the  Ministry — Bute 
and  the  New  Tories — Frederick  and  Russia — England  and 
Spain — The  Terms  of  Peace — Effect  of  the  Seven  Years’ 

War  on  the  Continent  — Its  Character  in  America  and 
India — Determinative  Results  in  the  American  Colonies — 

Its  Relation  to  American  Nationality  and  Independence. 

CHAPTER  X. 

A New  Issue  in  Constitutional  Government — 1760-1762,  110 

Disunion  between  America  and  England — Their  respective 
Forms  of  Administration — Political  Theories  in  Vogue — 

The  Terms  Provincial  and  Colonial — Theory  of  Grenville 
— Restrictions  on  American  Trade — Practice  of  the  Age 
— Royal  Requisitions — The  Plea  of  Gratitude — Legal  Ar- 
gument for  the  Taxing  Power — Inconsistency  of  Claim 
and  Conduct — Inadequacy  of  the  English  Constitution — 

The  New  Question — Writs  of  Assistance — James  Otis  and 
the  Spirit  of  the  Constitution — New  York  and  the  Ap- 
pointment of  Judges — The  same  Question  Elsewhere. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Stamp  Act— 1762-1766 127 

The  Ministries  of  Newcastle  and  Bute — Grenville  and  Town- 
shend — Ministerial  Responsibility — Wilkes  and  the  North 
Briton — General  Warrants  and  the  Freedom  of  the  Press 
—Proposition  for  a Stamp  Act — Prosperity  and  Education 
in  America — Colonial  Unity  and  the  Name  American — 
Failure  of  Franklin's  Protest — Enactment  of  the  Stamp 
Act — Discussion  of  its  Illegality — Its  Reception  in  America 
— The  Patriots  and  the  Masses — Measures  of  Nullification 
— Taxation  by  Consent  of  the  Governed — Call  for  a Con- 
gress— Significance  of  the  Assembly — Inconsistency  of  its 
Memorials— Gadsden’s  Plea  and  the  First  Steps  toward 
Union — Change  in  New  England  Opinion — The  Rocking- 
ham Ministry — Attitude  of  English  Factions — The  Repeal 
and  the  Declaratory  Act. 


CONTENTS 


XV 


CHAPTER  XIL 

PAGE 

Conflict  of  Two  Theories — 1766-1768 142 

Charles  Townshend — The  Chatham-Grafton  Ministry — Con- 
solidation of  the  New  Toryism — Enforcement  of  its  Policy 
— The  Billeting  Act  in  New  York — A New  Tariff — The 
King  his  own  Prime  Minister — The  Constitutional  Crisis 
— The  Attitude  of  France — Change  in  Colonial  Doctrine — 

The  “Farmer’s  Letters” — America  Indignant — The  Col- 
onial Officials — The  Circular  Letter  from  Massachusetts — 
Parliament  Demands  its  Withdrawal — The  other  Colonies 
Support  its  Principle— Outbreak  of  Armed  Resistance  in 
North  Carolina— New  Orleans,  St.  Louis,  and  the  New 
West. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Constitutional  Revolution — 1770-1774,  . . . 154 

Reply  to  the  “Farmer’s  Letters” — The  Colonies  United  in 
Purpose — Disorganization  of  Colonial  Government — New 
York  Suggests  a Congress — New  Opinions  in  Great  Britain 
— Loyalty  in  America — The  Boston  Riots — The  Battle  on 
the  Alamance — Burning  of  the  Gaspee — Effects  of  Oppres- 
sion— Failure  of  the  non-importation  Agreements— Com- 
mittees of  Correspondence— Final  Collapse  of  Colonial 
Administration — Constitutional  Changes  in  England  — 
Benjamin  Franklin — The  Hutchinson  Letters — Franklin 
before  the  Council — His  Conduct. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Resistance  to  Oppression — 1773-1774,  . . . . 16G 

The  Tea  Tax — Resistance  to  Importation — Boston  Resorts  to 
Force  — Lord  North  Retaliates— The  Boston  Port  Act — 
Changes  in  the  Massachusetts  Charter — The  Quebec  Act 
— American  Tories  and  Patriots — Respective  Propositions 
of  New  York  and  New  England — The  “Continental” 
Movement — Passive  Resistance  of  New  England — Move- 
ment to  Convene  a Congress — Alexander  Hamilton — Char- 


XVI 


CONTEXTS 


acter  of  the  Delegations — Royal  Officials  Menaced — The 
Savage  to  Fight  against  the  Americans — The  First  Conti- 
nental Congress — Dramatic  Opening — Last  Appeal  for  Jus- 
tice— Two  Assertions  of  Sovereignty— Significance  of  the 
Fight  at  Point  Pleasant. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Beginning  of  Hostilities— 1774-1775,  . . . 179 

Dissensions  in  Parliament  and  Cabinet — Chatham’s  Plan  of 
Conciliation — Burke  the  Friend  of  America— Duplicity  of 
the  King — War  Measures  of  the  Administration — Return 
of  Franklin — Burke  on  the  Spirit  of  the  Constitution — 
Effect  of  the  News  in  America — Approach  of  the  Crisis — 

The  Gathering  on  Lexington  Green — The  Conflicts  at  Lex- 
ington and  Concord — Retreat  of  the  English — Boston  Be- 
sieged by  the  American  Farmers — The  Colonies  Organize 
for  Armed  Resistance — Overthrow  of  the  Colonial  Govern- 
ments— Seizure  of  Ticonderoga — War  Measures  of  Parlia- 
ment and  the  King — Attitude  of  Europe. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill— February-July,  1775,  . 192 

Self-reliance  of  the  Americans — Their  Attitude  Toward  Eng- 
land— Conservative  Elements — Patriotic  Impulses — The 
Mecklenburg  Declaration — The  Second  Continental  Con- 
gress— Its  Apparent  Inconsistencies — Results  of  Modera- 
tion—The  Virginia  Burgesses  and  Lord  North's  Proposals 
— George  Washington — Appointed  Commander-in-Chief — 
Character  of  the  New  England  Army — Fortification  of  Bun- 
ker Hill — The  Battle — The  Result  Indecisive — Washing- 
ton at  Cambridge. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Overthrow  of  Royal  Authority— 1775-1776,  . . 203 

The  Expedition  against  Canada — Siege  of  Quebec — Failure 
of  the  Campaign — Siege  of  Boston — The  English  Withdraw 
— Bombardment  of  Norfolk — Overthrow  of  Royal  Govern- 


CONTENTS 


XV 11 


PAGE 

ment  in  the  South  and  in  New  England — Anomalous  Sit- 
uation in  the  Middle  Colonies— Beginnings  of  United  and 
Independent  Action — Paper  Money— John  Adams  and  the 
Conduct  of  Congress — The  First  American  Flag — Trade 
Notions  of  Congress — The  Petition  to  Parliament  Rejected 
— The  Americans  Proclaimed  Rebels — Purchase  of  Troops 
by  George  III. — Congress  Petitions  the  King— Action  of 
the  Patriots — “ Common-Sense ’’  — Effect  on  Congress  and 
the  Country — Final  Overthrow  of  Royal  Authority. 


CHAPTER  KVIII. 

The  Movement  for  Independence  — January-June. 

1776, 216 

Parliament  Declines  Redress— The  Ministry  Proposes  Par- 
don— Danger  to  English  Institutions — The  Colonies  Tem- 
porize— French  Agents  in  America — France  Had  Two  Mo- 
tives for  Interference  — Plan  of  Yergennes  — English 
Strength  in  New  York — Sears  and  Charles  Lee — The  City 
Fortified — North  Carolina  Tories  Routed — The  British  be- 
fore Charleston — Bombardment  of  the  City — Success  of  the 
Defence  — New  Commonwealths — Virginia — Debates  in 
Congress — New  York  Hesitates — Overthrow  of  the  Propri- 
etary Assembly  in  Pennsylvania. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Independence  and  Confederation— July-August,  1776,  227 

Congress  and  the  State  Governments — Diversity  of  Opinion 
— Debate  on  the  Declaration  of  Independence — Jefferson's 
Document  Adopted — Adams  and  Witherspoon — Popular 
Enthusiasm — Character  of  the  Paper — Real  Nature  of  the 
Confederation — The  Appearance  of  a Separatist  Temper — 
Congress  to  be  Stripped  of  Power — Conflict  between  South- 
ern and  Northern  Opinion — Local  Ideas  of  Independence 
Expressed  in  the  Articles  of  Confederation — The  Western 
Lands  and  True  Union — Inefficiency  of  Congress — Fickle- 
ness of  the  Masses. 


xviii 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XX. 

PAGE 

The  Loss  of  New  York  City— April-December,  1776,  238 

Three  Divisions  of  the  War — Importance  of  New  York  City 
— Arrival  of  Washington — The  System  of  Defence— The 
Opposing  Forces — The  Battle  of  Long  Island — Inefficiency 
of  the  American  Militia — Evacuation  of  New  York — En- 
campment on  the  Bronx  River  — The  Battle  of  White 
Plains — Capture  of  Fort  Washington  by  the  British — Tire 
American  Army  in  New  Jersey — Retreat  of  Greene — Need 
of  a Regular  Army — Treachery  of  Charles  Lee — Congress 
Authorizes  Long  Enlistments — Washington’s  Retreat  across 
New  Jersey — His  Army  Reinforced — His  Successful  Strat- 
egy— Lee  Captured  by  the  British — His  True  Character. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Trenton  and  Princeton— December,  1776,  . . . 251 

Congress  Leaves  Philadelphia — The  Winter  Quarters  of  the 
English  on  the  Delaware — Washington’s  Plan  for  a Sur- 
prise— The  Battle  of  Trenton — Courage  and  Activity  Re- 
vived— Preparations  to  Assume  the  Offensive — The  Eng- 
lish March  to  Trenton — Camp  on  the  Assanpink — Wash- 
ington’s Flank  Movement  — Battle  of  Princeton  — The 
Americans  at  Morristown  — The  Delaware  and  Hudson 
Safe — Plans  for  Reorganizing  the  Army — Thwarted  by 
Localism — Timidity  of  the  States — American  Success  Jus- 
tified the  American  Revolt. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Bennington  and  the  Brandywine  — January-Seftem- 
ber,  1777 262 

Secret  Assistance  from  France — Franklin  in  Paris— French 
Volunteers— Lafayette  and  De  Kalb — Success  of  Frank- 
lin’s Negotiations — England  and  the  Coming  Campaign — 
Expedition  of  the  Howes  against  Philadelphia — Prelimi- 
nary Movements  in  New  Jersey— Schuyler  and  Gates  in 
the  North — Danbury  and  Sag  Harbor — Burgoyne  Takes 
Ticonderoga — Indian  Barbarities — Increase  of  Schuyler’s 


CONTENTS 


XIX 


Force — Fort  Stanwix — The  Fight  at  Oriskany — Stark  at 
Bennington — The  English  Defeated  — General  Howe  at 
Elkton — Washington’s  Army — The  Battle  on  the  Brandy- 
wine— Loss  of  Philadelphia — The  Americans  at  German- 
town. 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Saratoga  and  the  French  Alliance  — September-De- 
cember,  1777, 275 

The  Army  of  the  North — Its  Position  near  Stillwater — The 
First  Day’s  Battle  at  Bemis’s  Heights — The  English  Pass 
the  Highlands — The  Battle  of  Freeman’s  Farm — Retreat 
of  Burgoyne— Surrender  at  Saratoga — The  Battle  of  Ger- 
mantown— Affairs  near  Philadelphia  — Summary  of  the 
Year’s  Campaign — Congress  and  the  Cabal — Continental 
Money  and  Valley  Forge — Prosperity  of  the  People — Suc- 
cess of  the  State  Governments — Weakness  of  the  Confed- 
eration— The  Public  Finances— The  News  of  Saratoga  in 
France — The  Compact  of  Friendship. 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Recognition  of  American  Independence  — January- 
July,  1778, 288 

National  Sentiment  in  England — The  Rockingham  Whigs — 
British  Supremacy  Endangered — Conciliation  as  a Political 
Expedient — Proposal  to  Yield  Independence — Public  Re- 
ception of  Franklin  at  the  French  Court — Congress  Ratifies 
the  Treaty — Collapse  of  the  Cabal — Reorganization  of  the 
Army  — Conciliation  Offered — Failure  of  the  Mission— 

The  English  Abandon  Philadelphia  — Their  March  Im- 
peded— The  Battle  of  Monmouth — Incidents  of  the  Fight 
— The  Massacre  of  Wyoming. 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Eyil  Effects  of  the  Foreign  Alliance — 1778-1779,  . 300 

Arnold  at  Philadelphia — The  Government  Returns — D’Es- 
taing’s  Failures — The  Expedition  Against  Newport — Situ- 
ation at  the  North  — Humiliation  of  the  Confederacy— 


XX 


CONTENTS 


Straits  of  the  English  Ministry — Ambitions  and  Fears  of 
Spain — Spain  Joins  the  Alliance — Western  Settlement — 
Clark’s  Expedition — Louisiana  and  Florida  Lost  to  Eng- 
land— France  Expects  Peace — Movements  of  Clinton — 
Stony  Point — Sullivan’s  Campaign  Against  the  Iroquois — 

The  Fiasco  of  Castine — The  Exploits  of  Paul  Jones. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Camden  and  King’s  Mountain — 1779-1780,  . . . 312 

Hostilities  in  Georgia — English  Authority  Re-established — 
Lincoln  and  D’Estaing  Fail  before  Savannah— Proposi- 
tion to  Arm  Slaves — Fall  of  Charleston — English  Policy 
in  the  South — Measures  Taken  by  Cornwallis— The  Reign 
of  Terror  in  South  Carolina— The  Patriots  Prepare  for 
Resistance — Gates  Defeated  at  Camden — The  Frontiers- 
men Meet  the  Crisis — Battle  of  King’s  Mountain — Moral 
Effect  and  Character  of  the  Victory — Greene  Relieves 
Gates — Bankruptcy  and  Mutiny  in  the  North — Failure  of 
Plans  for  Co-operation  between  Washington  and  D’Estaing 
— Arrival  of  Rochambeau. 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

The  Southern  Invasion  Repelled— 1780-1781,  . . 325 

Washington  Reprimands  Arnold  — Arrest  of  Andre  — His 
Character  and  Guilt — Insubordination  in  the  Army — Rob- 
ert Morris  and  the  Finances  of  the  Confederation — Arnold 
in  Virginia — Lafayette  and  Steuben — Greene  Creates  a 
Southern  Army — Morgan  at  Cowpens— Greene’s  Retreat — 

The  Forces  at  Guilford — Cornwallis  Victorious  but  Thwart- 
ed— Groton  Heights— Effect  of  Rawdon’s  Cruelties — Greene 
Marches  Southward — Defeat  at  Hobkirk’s  Hill — Sumter 
and  Marion — Battle  of  Eutaw  Springs. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Yorktown — 1781, 337 

Plans  of  Cornwallis — His  Advance  against  Lafayette — The 
Pursuit  and  Retreat— Steuben  Creates  an  Army — Disagree- 


CONTENTS 


XXI 


ment  between  Clinton  and  Cornwallis — Position  of  the  Lat- 
ter at  Yorktown— Arrival  of  the  French  Fleet  under  De 
Grasse — Washington’s  Plans— Sectional  Feeling  among  the 
States — Events  in  the  North  during  1780 — Conferences  of 
Washington  and  Roehambeau — Clinton  Expects  an  Attack 
on  New  York — The  Combined  Armies  March  Southward 
— The  Threatened  Mutiny  at  Philadelphia — Defeat  of  the 
English  Fleet  in  the  Chesapeake — Investment  of  York- 
town— Cornwallis  Surrenders — Disposition  of  the  Ameri- 
can and  French  Forces — Closing  Events  of  the  War. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

The  Peace  op  Versailles— 1782-1783,  ....  348 

American  Independence  and  European  Politics — England 
and  the  Bourbon  Powers — International  Law — Blockade 
and  Contraband— The  Continental  Neutrals — The  Armed 
Neutrality — William  Lee  and  the  Amsterdam  Proposal- — 
Position  of  the  Netherlands — The  News  of  Yorktown — ■ 

Fall  of  the  North  Ministry — State  of  English  Parties — The 
Rockingham  Ministry — American  Peace  Commissioners — 

The  Terms  proposed  by  Congress — Oswald  and  Franklin — 
Grenville  and  Vergennes— Cross  Purposes  in  the  Negotia- 
tion— The  Shelburne  Ministry — -Position  of  Jay  and  Adams 
— Franklin’s  Attitude — The  Wishes  of  Vergennes — Secret 
Mission  of  Rayneval — Jay’s  Proposals— Final  Negotiations 
— Character  of  the  Treaty — The  General  Pacification — 

Fall  of  Shelburne's  Ministry — The  Coalition  Ministry — 
Final  Ratification  of  the  Treaty. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

Weakness  and  Strength, 370 

American  Independence  and  European  Politics — The  Former 
and  Later  Generations — The  American  Navy — Its  Achieve- 
ment— Its  Gradual  Diminution — Privateering — Morris  and 
the  Finances — Expense  of  the  War — Congress  and  the 
Army — Washington  Allays  the  Discontent — The  Army  Dis- 
banded— The  Cincinnati — Washington’s  Political  Insight 


XXII 


CONTEXTS 


— The  Southern  States  — The  Middle  States — Their  Occu- 
pations and  Educational  Institutions — New  England — Mas- 
sachusetts and  Virginia — Character  of  the  Revolution- 
Effect  on  Ecclesiastical  Movements— Slavery — Tendencies 
toward  Union  in  State  Administrations — Importance  of  the 
New  Forces — Literature  of  the  Revolution — Signs  of  a 
National  Spirit— Political  Writers — The  New  Society. 


APPENDIX 

I.  Chronological  Table, 389 

II.  Bibliography, 393 

III.  The  Declaration  of  Independence,  . . . 397 


INDEX, . 401 


LIST  OF  MAPS 

1.  The  Territory  Now  in  the  United  States, 

As  it  was  in  1750, Frontispiece 

2.  The  Northern  Colonies  and  Canada,  Illus- 

trating the  French  and  Indian  War,  Page  38 

3.  The  Northern  Colonies,  Illustrating  the 

First  Half  of  the  Revolution,  . . “179 

4.  The  Southern  Colonies,  Illustrating  the 

Second  Half  of  the  Revolution,  . “ 312 

5.  The  Territory  Now  in  the  United 

States,  as  it  was  after  the  Peace  of 

1783, End  of  the  volume 


TIIE  TERRITORY  NOW  IN  THE  l 


115  Longitude 


105  West  fro 


50  100 


200 


[TED  STATES  AS  IT  WAS  IN  1756. 


400 


500 


THE 


FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  ENGLISH  PEOPLE  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY— 
1688-1756 

Nature  of  the  European  Struggle — Position  of  the  Powers — Changes 
in  English  Politics — Party  Struggles — Gains  and  Losses  in  Pub- 
lic Morality — Pitt  and  Wesley — Influences  in  America — Char- 
acter of  Colonial  Civilization — The  Americans  as  Political  and 
Religious  Dissenters — Dangerous  Elements  in  the  Population. 

The  interval  between  the  English  and  the  American 
Revolution  was  full  of  intellectual  ferment  and  military 
activity  both  throughout  Europe  itself  and  in 
the  colonial  settlements  of  her  various  politi-  the  European 
cal  divisions.  Absolute  monarchy  as  a sys-  strugsie’ 
tern  of  government  had  done  its  work  in  the  establish- 
ment of  powerful  and  permanent  nationalities.  Boundary 
lines,  however,  were  as  yet  unsettled  even  at  home,  the 
relations  of  the  masses  to  their  rulers  were  undetermined, 
and  the  warfare  of  the  time  had  for  its  object  the  decision 
of  a double  question,  that  of  political  theory  and  actual 
control  both  on  the  continent  and  beyond  the  seas.  A 
few  great  men  understood  that  free  institutions  and  a 
territorial  expansion  which  might  be  more  than  epheme- 
ral, were  corollaries  one  of  the  other.  In  the  great  Euro- 


2 THE  FRENCH  WAR  AN1)  THE  REVOLUTION 


pean  struggle  for  religious  liberty  tlie  leaders  of  tlie  op- 
posing forces  had  been  William  the  Silent  and  Philip 
II.,  of  Spain.  In  this  renewal  of  European  hostilities  the 
forces  arrayed  on  either  side  were  substantially  the  same. 
Now,  however,  the  commander  for  absolutism  was  the 
King  of  France,  Avliile  the  general  of  those  who  stood 
for  political  liberty  and  who  had  ascended  the  English 
throne  by  the  choice  of  the  English  parliament  as  a 
protest  against  tyranny  in  both  religion  and  politics  was 
a lineal  descendant  of  William  the  Silent. 

By  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  contest 
had  seen  many  phases,  none  of  them  conclusive  for  any 

Position  of  the  of  the  Parties  engaged.  The  peace  of  Rys- 
powers.  wick,  in  1697,  effected  little  change  as  regards 
sovereignty,  although  it  gave  Strasburg  to  France ; but  it 
secured  a great  moral  victory  for  England  by  compelling 
Lewis  XIV.  to  acknowledge  the  constitutional  title  of 
William  m.  as  King,  and  of  Anne  as  his  successor.  The 
peace  of  Utrecht,  in  1713,  enforced  a renewal  of  the  broken 
promise,  definitely  confirmed  both  for  the  Continent  and 
for  the  disaffected  at  home  the  Protestant  succession  to 
the  English  throne,  established  the  great  power  of  Prus- 
sia as  a Protestant  kingdom,  and  wrenched  from  France 
Nova  Scotia,  Newfoundland,  and  the  Hudson’s  Bay  terri- 
tory. It  also  prevented  the  union  of  France  and  Spain 
under  an  absolute  government,  and  gave  Gibraltar  to 
England.  The  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  in  1748,  was  a 
sorry  affair.  Avowedly  it  was  to  turn  Prussia  into  a great 
power  by  giving  her  Silesia,  and  to  sustain  Maria  Theresa 
on  the  Austrian  throne,  restoring  all  conquests  to  those 
who  had  held  them  by  the  peace  of  Utrecht.  In  reality 
it  was  but  an  armistice  which  gave  the  contesting  powers 
an  opportunity  to  re-arrange  in  secret  diplomacy  their 
dynastic  alliances,  so  that  with  recruited  strength  they 
might  once  more  renew  the  mortal  combat. 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  3 


In  all  these  years  English  politics  had  steadily  de- 
veloped on  liberal  lines.  At  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 
tion there  was  but  one  supreme  power  in  the  chan„e  ju 
state,  and  that  was  resident  in  Parliament.  English®  pou- 

tics. 

Still  further,  it  was  the  House  of  Commons 
which  was  now  predominant,  its  members  being  elected 
by  a very  limited  suffrage,  and  representing  the  three  in- 
terests of  the  landed  aristocracy,  the  powerful  trading 
classes,  and  the  equally  influential  body  of  lawyers  who 
were  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  system.  The  powers  of 
the  crown  were  so  limited  by  the  Bill  of  Rights  that  gov- 
ernment was  carried  on  by  party  organization,  and  except 
in  a few  comparatively  short  periods  the  Whigs  were  in 
control.  The  new  extra-legal  plan  of  cabinets  led  by  a 
prime  minister  with  undefined  but  commanding  authority, 
had  been  fully  developed  and  put  into  effective  operation. 
The  judicial  system  had  been  emancipated  by  making  the 
tenure  of  office  dependent,  not  on  the  good  will  of  the 
crown,  but  on  the  good  behavior  of  the  incumbent ; free 
speech  was  assured,  the  censorship  of  the  press  abolished, 
and  a measure  of  religious  liberty  had  been  guaranteed 
in  the  authorization  of  assemblies  for  worship  outside  of 
the  organization  of  the  Anglican  Church,  although  none 
but  its  conforming  members  might  hold  office.  By  the 
Act  of  Union  the  legislatures  of  the  two  kingdoms  of 
Scotland  and  England  had  been  amalgamated,  and  the 
nations  themselves  welded  into  one. 

The  aim  of  William  was  to  destroy  the  military  su- 
premacy of  France.  But  the  Whigs  carried  on  the  cost- 
ly continental  wars  with  the  determination  of  Party  strug. 
establishing  their  domestic  policy,  and  some-  gIes- 
times  forgot  the  dictates  of  prudence  in  refusing  ad- 
vantageous terms  of  peace.  Thus,  out  of  elements  which 
were  living  though  dormant,  was  formed  again  the  Tory 
party.  But  they  in  turn  were  intoxicated  by  power,  and 


4 THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


in  the  prosecution  of  a domestic  policy  subversive  of  all 
that  tbe  Revolution  bad  accomplished  lost  their  hold 
upon  the  nation.  It  was  therefore  an  unpartisan  and 
national  movement  which  by  the  Act  of  Settlement  con- 
firmed the  Protestant  succession  and  brought  the  House 
of  Hanover  to  the  throne.  George  I.  at  once  gave  his 
confidence  to  the  Whigs.  The  extreme  Tories  promptly 
turned  to  the  support  of  the  desperate  Stewart  cause, 
and  thereby  not  only  abandoned  part}'  lines,  but  became 
virtual  rebels  and  outlaws,  leaving  the  Whigs  in  undis- 
puted predominance  for  over  thirty  years. 

The  time  was  productive  of  some  good  and  much  evil 
to  England.  Two  attempts  were  made  to  bring  back  the 
Pretender,  but  they  failed,  partly  through  the  indiffer- 
ence of  his  professed  supporters.  The  nation  then  un- 
derstood that  absolutism  was  forever  ended  in  England, 
and  turned  its  attention  to  commerce,  trade,  and  the  dis- 
cussion of  constitutional  questions.  Walpole’s  long 
ministry  and  his  peace  policy  were  to  the  people  as  the 
calm  of  the  winter  solstice  to  the  fabled  halcyon,  a time 
of  building,  refitting,  and  propagating.  In  this  period 
the  political  expedients  of  the  past  grew  into  permanent 
institutions  ; the  expression  of  the  popular  will,  which 
had  been  regarded  as  the  extreme  remedy  for  public 
evils,  became  more  and  more  frequent  and  was  found  to 
be,  not  an  exceptional  and  violent  antidote,  but  an  ex- 
cellent and  regulative  habit.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
„ . , public  morality  fell  lower  than  ever  before  or 

losses  in  pub-  since,  and  dragged  with  it  the  conduct  of  m- 
lic  morality.  (qiviclUals.  Statesmen  found  that  in  following 
the  line  of  least  resistance,  the  easiest  system  of  parlia- 
mentaiy  tactics  was  the  use  of  bribes.  Walpole,  Pelham, 
and  Newcastle  seem  to  have  forgotten  the  existence  of 
public  virtue,  and  practised  corruption  with  an  effron- 
tery which  the  plain  people  among  their  contemporaries 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  5 

were  willing  to  accept  for  the  boldness  of  innocence.  It 
will  be  remembered  also  that  this  was  a so-called  age  of 
reason.  In  the  reaction  against  the  Puritan  reformation, 
many  felt  that  the  only  counterpoise  to  the  authority  of 
the  infallible  Bible  was  in  the  authority  of  the  human 
reason.  Every  ancient  belief  was  thrown  into  the  cruci- 
ble. Religion  and  unbelief  alike  came  forth  dispassion- 
ate and  unsympathetic.  Loftier  minds  contented  them- 
selves with  entertaining  yet  fruitless  speculation,  while 
the  lowly  fell  into  timid  formalism  and  carelessness.  It 
was  the  day  of  the  bluff  and  tipsy  squire,  of  the  fox-hunt- 
ing parson,  of  general  vulgarity  and  coarseness,  of  un- 
imaginative materialism  and  mere  expediency  in  high 
places.  By  the  middle  of  the  century  the  state  of  the 
nation  was  mirrored  in  the  inglorious  ministry  of  Henry 
Pelham,  in  the  utter  insignificance  of  England,  in  the 
moderatism  of  the  established  Kirk  of  Scotland,  in  the 
lukewarmness  of  the  national  Church  of  England,  in  the 
feebleness  of  the  army  which  a little  later  was  displayed 
by  the  poltroonery  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  at 
Closter-Seven,  in  the  cowardly  inactivity  of  Abercrombie 
in  America,  in  the  supiueness  of  Byng  at  Minorca. 

But  behind  the  mask  of  political  baseness,  of  un- 
military conduct,  and  of  apparent  impiety  was  another 
national  spirit.  The  emotions  and  imagination  of  the 
people  could  not  forever  smoulder  without  fuel  ; on  the 
contrary,  they  grew  in  intensity,  burned  for  an  object,  and 
one  was  found.  The  great  outburst  of  earnestness  which 
followed  is  connected  with  the  name  of  Pitt  in  politics, 
and  with  that  of  Wesley  in  religion;  and  Pitt  and 
striking  parallels  have  been  drawn,  although  Wesley, 
in  matters  of  detail  the  contrasts  are  far  more  pointed 
than  the  resemblances.  The  religious  revival  was  begun 
by  preaching,  appealed  to  the  emotional  nature,  and  in 
the  end  permeated  the  entire  nation.  The  extreme  form 


6 THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


which  was  typical  of  the  whole  was  Methodism,  a con- 
ception of  religious  life  based  on  conviction  of  sin,  con- 
version to  a higher  life,  and  the  realization  through  care- 
ful living  of  the  Creator’s  image  in  each  of  his  human 
creatures.  To  secure  and  confirm  the  converted  sinner 
an  organization  was  devised  so  perfectly  adapted  to  its 
end  that  the  sect  thus  initiated  is  now  the  most  numer- 
ous and  one  of  the  most  fervent  in  the  Reformed  Church. 
In  a certain  sense  there  wTas  also  a political  revival  which 
addressed  and  awakened  the  emotions.  Pitt  fired  the 
imagination  of  men,  appealed  to  their  patriotism  and 
prejudice  by  his  scorn  of  Hanoverian  influence  in  English 
politics,  swayed  their  minds  by  eloquence,  inspired  them 
with  trust,  and  with  pardonable  ostentation  gave  them  in 
his  own  person  an  example  of  personal  purity  and  public 
virtue.  Thus  was  moulded  that  important  element  which 
has  been,  down  to  our  own  time,  the  savor  of  English  life, 
distasteful  often  to  outsiders  in  its  extremes  of  talk  and 
conduct,  but  correcting  the  richness  of  English  luxury 
and  the  heaviness  of  British  conservatism.  As  yet  it  was 
neither  coherent  nor  consistent.  Pitt’s  first  ministry  was 
too  short  and  unsuccessful  to  subvert  old  parties  or  form 
new  ones,  and  for  a long  weary  while  he  and  his  follow- 
ers fought  under  the  Whig  banner,  beside  comrades  who 
still  used  the  old  disreputable  weapons. 

There  was  therefore  a real  liberal  party  in  England  itself, 
characterized  by  tolerance  and  acuteness,  concerned  for 
the  sanctity  of  those  constitutional  principles  which  had 
been  reasserted  in  the  Revolution,  and  sympathizing  with 
the  dumb  yearnings  of  the  people  for  emancipation  and 
influences  self-government  as  they  grew  more  intense  and 
in  America,  struggled  for  utterance.  But  its  adherents 
were  far  less  numerous  and  influential  in  England  than 
they  were  proportionately  among  the  English  in  America. 
We  use  the  designation  broadly  but  advisedly,  because 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  7 

although  there  were  people  of  other  nationalities  in  the 
colonies  who  left  their  mark  in  many  a virtuous  habit 
or  curious  idiosyncrasy  upon  their  respective  neighbor- 
hoods, yet  it  was  nevertheless  a fairly  homogeneous 
population  of  about  a million  and  a half,  bearing  a civil- 
ization thoroughly  English  as  that  word  was  used  in 
Great  Britain,  which  dwelt  along  the  Atlantic  seaboard 
from  the  Bay  of  Fundy  to  Florida.  The  initial  differ- 
ences between  the  colonies  had  been  very  great,  some  of 
them  still  survive  in  unfortunate  completeness.  But, 
politically  at  least,  they  were  less  distinct  from  each 
other  than  could  have  been  foreseen  by  their  founders, 
and  in  their  theory  of  government  they  were  vastly  more 
congruous  than  the  various  schools  of  Englishmen  at 
home.  The  widest  separation  was  in  ecclesiastical  mat- 
ters, for  every  form  of  polity  known  in  England  had  been 
transplanted  to  America  in  the  interest  of  religious 
liberty,  and  the  sects  being  free  from  state  control,  had 
under  the  voluntary  system  developed  and  retained  a 
strong  individuality  each  for  itself.  But  wide  as  it  was, 
it  was  not  so  wide  as  the  social  gulf  which  the  insular 
prejudice  of  the  English  aristocracy  had  opened  between 
themselves  and  their  relations  beyond  the  sea.  Nor  was 
it  comparable  to  the  divorce  of  sentiment  and  interest 
caused  by  the  navigation  acts  and  the  enforced  monopoly 
of  the  slave-trade.  In  spite,  therefore,  of  the  division  in 
America  between  Whig  and  Tory,  Calvinist  and  Arminian, 
Puritan,  Presbyterian,  and  Churchman,  there  existed  quite 
as  strong  a basis  for  national  unity  on  one  side  of  the  At- 
lantic as  on  the  other. 

But  while  there  was  another  England  in  America,  it 
was  by  no  means  the  same  England  as  that  in  Britain. 
The  very  presence  of  the  colonists  on  foreign  soil  was  in 
great  measure  a protest.  They  were  still  monarchical  in 
theory,  but  their  king  was  three  thousand  miles  away. 


8 THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


they  obeyed  laws  of  their  own  making,  the  Test  Act  had 
no  validity  in  their  commonwealths,  and  their  immedi- 
Character  of  a^e  allegiance  was  to  a taxing  power  instituted 
coioniai  civil-  and  controlled  by  themselves.  Neither  feu- 
dalism nor  priestcraft  had  made  the  voyage, 
and  would  have  been  stifled  in  the  air  of  the  wilderness 
if  they  had.  Labor  too  was  free  ; no  mediaeval  craft  or 
guild  could  survive  in  a society  where  every  man’s  labor 
was  directed  to  what  he  must  do,  and  not  to  what  he 
wished  to  do  or  could  do.  Being  in  the  main  of  Ger- 
manic blood,  whether  from  England,  Germany,  Holland, 
or  Scandinavia,  they  were  likewise  of  one  religion.  They 
were  Christians  in  the  highest  sense  of  that  word,  for 
the  sensualism  of  the  school  of  Locke  and  the  deism  of 
Shaftesbury  had  left  them  untouched.  They  had  crossed 
the  seas  for  a principle  which  they  still  cherished  as  their 
most  valuable  possession,  and  their  lives  were  guided  and 
fashioned  under  the  influence  of  ideals  which  had  long 
since  disappeared  or  changed  among  their  kinsfolk.  Ex- 
cepting the  few  Roman  Catholics  in  Maryland,  the  colo- 
nists belonged  almost  exclusively  to  the  Reformed  Church. 
They  held  the  Calvinistic  confessions  of  Scotch  or  Eng- 
lish Presbyterianism  and  Puritanism,  of  the  Huguenots,  or 
of  Holland,  adhered  to  the  Lutheran  creeds  of  Scandina- 
via and  Germany,  or  to  the  comprehension  of  Calvinism 
and  Arminianism  in  the  Episcopalians  and  Methodists. 
One  central  thesis  they  all  maintained,  the  right  of  private 
judgment,  of  freedom  in  belief,  of  liberty  in  practice. 

They  were  capable,  moreover,  of  holding  such  a doc- 
trine. Common  minds  could  neither  apprehend  it  nor 
practise  it.  But  the  colonists  at  the  middle  and  close  of 
the  eighteenth  century  were  either  the  children  of  relig- 
ious and  political  refugees,  or  themselves  exiles  for  con- 
science sake.  Their  intellects  having  been  sharpened  in 
theological  discussion  and  trained  by  the  study  of  the 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY  9 


Scriptures  in  the  vernacular,  their  language  was  conse- 
quently moulded  by  the  eloquent  and  adequate  diction  of 
the  King  James  translation.  Their  courage  ^ 
had  been  hardened  by  suffering,  whether  in  U1-  cans  as  poll- 
ster or  in  Salzburg,  and  the  enterprise  of  trans-  ious  dissenf- 
atlantic  colonization  was  not  then,  as  now,  a LI>' 
matter  of  a few  dollars  and  still  fewer  days.  It  may  at 
once  be  granted  that  they  were  even  yet  self-willed  and 
intolerant,  but  the  other  older  world  had  lately  seen  the 
bigotry  of  the  Sacheverell  incident,  and  was  yet  to  see 
the  worse  fanaticism  of  the  Gordon  riots.  The  very  lim- 
itations of  the  American  settlers  constituted  an  impor- 
tant virtue.  Energy  in  action  is  not  the  quality  of  those 
who  are  open  to  all  influences  and  sensitive  to  all  shades 
of  thought.  It  is  the  man  with  an  eye  single  to  one  end 
who  displays  promptness  and  tenacity  of  purpose. 

In  1688  there  were  about  200,000  Europeans  under 
the  twelve  colonial  governments  ; in  1755  they  had,  by 
natural  increase  and  an  ever-growing  immigration,  risen 
to  about  1,425,000.  While  most  of  the  new-comers  were 
of  the  same  sturdy  character  as  the  original  Dangerous 
colonists,  there  wTas  also  a proportionate  in-  the^'popuia^ 
crease  in  the  refuse  element.  With  the  ever-  tion- 
increasing  prosperity  of  the  plantations,  adventurers  in 
greater  numbers  were  attracted  to  our  shores,  many  of 
those  turbulent  men  who  haunt  European  seaports  were 
kidnapped  and  sold  in  America  for  menial  service,  con- 
victs were  encouraged  to  cross  the  seas  and  trouble  the 
criminal  courts  of  Europe  no  more,  and  many  did  so  ; 
but  above  all,  of  the  more  than  two  million  negroes  car- 
ried in  English  slave-ships  to  all  the  American  colonies, 
including  the  West  Indies,  during  the  period  from  1680 
to  1766,  it  is  likely  that  in  the  year  1755  not  less  than 
260,000  were  in  the  English  colonies  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can continent. 


CHAPTER  H. 


INSTITUTIONS  OP  THE  ENGLISH  COLONIES— 168S-1 756 

Influence  of  tlie  English  Revolution — The  Colonial  Governments — 
Political  and  Legal  Speculation — Political  Theory — Contempo- 
rary Speculation  in  Europe — The  Free-thinkers  of  England — 
Roman  Catholic  Disabilities  — Scotcli-Irisli  Presbyterians — 
Irish  Emigration  to  the  Continent — Influence  of  the  Protestant 
Irish  in  America — Roman  Catholics  in  America — Causes  of 
American  Loyalty — France  in  America — Tlie  Fisheries  Ques- 
tion. 

The  English  Revolution  had  been  productive  of  most 
important  results  in  this  large  number  of  men  subject  to 
the  English  crown.  At  home  the  people  had  not  care- 
fully analyzed  the  underlying  theory  of  that 
t heflUEngiish  event.  There  had  been  no  demand  for  lib- 
revoiution.  er£y  anc[  equality  abstractedly  considered,  the 
watchword,  if  there  was  one,  could  better  be  phrased  as 
liberty  and  property,  or  better  yet,  liberty  and  privilege. 
The  privileges  of  the  aristocracy  and  the  great  merchants 
were  at  stake,  and  the  weakness  of  the  Stewarts  had  lain 
in  their  attack  on  private  property.  In  America  there 
was  neither  social  nor  mercantile  privilege,  but  there  was 
the  same  jealousy  as  to  property  and  taxation.  The  King 
now  stood  not  for  the  invasion  of  free  charters,  but  for 
English  rights  and  liberties.  His  vetoes  of  certain  acts 
were  not  received  in  the  old  rebellious  spirit.  Massachu- 
setts got  a new  charter,  which  partly  satisfied  her  peo- 
ple ; Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  received  again  the  old 
ones  as  they  had  been  before  the  infractions  of  James  II. 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  THE  ENGLISH  COLONIES  11 


South  Carolina  representatives  banished  Colleton,  the  pro- 
prietary governor.  Virginia  restored  the  democratic  insti- 
tutions which  Culpepper  and  Effingham  had  threatened, 
for  her  first  assembly  after  William  and  Mary  ascended 
the  throne  elected  a treasurer  subject  only  to  its  own  or- 
ders ; in  Maryland  an  armed  gathering  proclaimed  King 
William,  and  a convention  which  had  been  summoned  for 
the  defence  of  Protestantism  assumed  the  government. 

So  it  came  about  that  the  distinctions  between  the 
crown,  charter,  and  proprietary  colonies  had  been  re- 
duced to  a minimum.  The  freemen  had  all  the  power  un- 
der the  charters  ; in  the  crown  colonies  there  was  a roy- 
al governor,  a council,  and  a judiciary  appointed  by  the 
crown,  but  the  assembly  was  elected  by  the  ^ ^ 

freemen,  and  as  the  members  of  the  council  i a 1 govem- 
were  chosen  from  the  chief  citizens  of  the  col- 
ony, the  government  of  the  crown  colonies  was  almost  as 
popular  and  free  as  that  of  those  which  had  a charter. 
The  proprietaries  in  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland, 
and  Carolina  nominated  governors  with  the  right  and 
duty  of  calling  assemblies  to  make  laws.  These  assem- 
blies were  elected  by  the  people,  and  in  Maryland,  under 
a charter  granted  by  the  proprietary,  chose  the  governor. 
The  general  direction  of  changes  was  theoretically  to 
give  greater  control  to  the  crown,  which  was  understood 
for  a long  time  to  be  virtually  in  commission  to  parlia- 
ment and  the  ministry.  At  first  there  was  some  inter- 
ference in  the  assertion  of  royal  sovereignty,  but  both 
Walpole  and  Newcastle  treated  the  American  colonies 
with  a happy  neglect  under  which  they  came  to  regard 
themselves  as  subject  to  the  crown,  but  virtually  inde- 
pendent in  legislation  and  taxation.  The  franchise  was 
ordinarily  limited  to  property  owners,  especially  those 
who  were  landed  proprietors.  The  initiative  was  with 
the  people,  the  judiciary  had  much  the  same  function  as 


12  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

under  the  English  constitution,  and  while,  presumptively, 
administration  was  in  the  hands  of  the  crown,  yet,  be- 
cause in  all  cases  some  executive  officers  were  elective, 
and  in  some  cases  all  of  them,  the  conduct  of  affairs  was 
in  reality  nearly  as  popular  as  legislation. 

The  American  colonists  were  also  much  given  to  po- 
litical and  legal  speculation.  Being  a religious  people 
„ . , , trained  in  the  principles  of  the  Reformation, 

Political  and  -i  -i  . 

legal  specula-  they  were  educated  from  earliest  childhood 

to  examine  and  discuss  the  most  abstruse  and 
difficult  questions  of  theology,  and  to  give  a reason  for 
the  faith  they  held.  Their  ecclesiastical  affairs  were 
conducted  in  the  popular  assembly  of  the  congregation, 
or  in  representative  bodies  with  supreme  control,  and 
the  public  interest  in  such  gatherings  was  even  more  in- 
tense then  than  now.  In  New  England,  at  least,  local 
government  was  carried  on  by  town  meetings,  in  which 
every  free  man  had  the  right  of  discussion  and  a vote. 
In  a system  so  purely  democratic  the  speaker  is  the  man 
of  influence.  Hence  the  leaders,  many  of  them  lawyers, 
were  the  educated  men,  and  the  people  were  accustomed 
to  hear  and  weigh  both  evidence  and  argument,  and  to 
decide  after  deliberating  on  questions  put  with  nice  dis- 
crimination and  passionate  fervor. 

In  the  field  of  political  theory,  therefore,  the  results  of 
the  English  Revolution  were  more  definite  even  than  in 
Political  the  matter  of  political  forms.  The  conven- 
theory.  tion  parliament  which  declared  the  flight  of 

James  H.  to  be  abdication,  and  called  William  and  Mary 
to  the  throne,  sat  without  royal  or  executive  sanction, 
stated  the  existence  of  an  original  contract  between 
the  monarch  and  his  subjects  and  held  the  king  respon- 
sible. Kingship  or  the  supreme  executive,  therefore,  is 
not  an  hereditary  possession,  but  an  office  resting  on  the 
consent  of  the  governed  ; it  is  a trust  which  can  be  and  is 


INSTITUTION'S  OF  TIIE  ENGLISH  COLONIES  13 


destroyed  by  unfaithfulness  ; tlie  legitimacy  of  a govern- 
ment depends  on  its  success  in  securing  the  general  wel- 
fare ; questions  of  taxation  and  the  public  credit  can  be 
decided  only  by  those  who  pay ; if  the  aristocracy  and 
merchants  assert  and  secure  these  privileges,  why  not  all 
other  English  people  ; if  vested  rights  are  sacred  in  Eng- 
land, so  are  those  of  the  colonial  legislatures  and  the  peo- 
ple whom  they  represent.  The  confirmation  of  such  views 
in  America  was  easy  because  of  the  absence  of  tradition, 
which  was  as  yet  so  strong  in  England. 

Sentiments  like  these  were,  of  course,  not  peculiar  to 
colonial  radicals,  nor  were  they  entirely  due  to  the  Eng- 
lish Revolution.  The  age  was  one  of  intel- 
lectual ferment.  All  Europe  had  felt  the  rary°  specuia- 
inlluences  of  the  Reformation.  Prussia  was  ^0°“e  111  Eu' 
rapidly  coming  forward  under  Frederick  the 
Great  as  the  exponent  of  religious  and  philosophical  lib- 
erty, giving  also  complete  civil  rights  to  Roman  Catho- 
lics ; Catherine  of  Russia  perverted  the  new  tenets  into 
an  apology  for  hideous  license.  Joseph  II.,  of  Austria, 
was  a reformer  in  his  way,  and  his  partial,  though  ill- 
starred,  success,  showed  that  even  in  the  stormy  days 
of  his  mother,  liberalism  had  been  abroad  in  Austria. 
Philip  V.,  of  Spain,  stupid  and  obdurate  as  he  was,  made 
use  of  the  flowing  tide  to  set  limits  to  papal  power  and 
overawe  the  arrogance  of  the  Jesuits,  while  introducing 
many  administrative  reforms  and  softening  the  criminal 
law.  In  France  there  was  every  degree  of  liberty  and 
license  of  opinion,  while  an  extreme  scepticism  was  laying 
the  mine  to  destroy  eventually  all  existing  institutions. 
As  the  authority  of  the  Church  in  matters  of  faith  and 
behavior  faded,  the  belief  in  all  authority,  even  political, 
disappeai’ed  in  the  same  mist.  Voltaire  alone  sought 
to  set  his  scoffing  philosophy  as  a prop  to  monarchy  ; 
cringing  and  fawning  before  George  II.  and  Louis  XV., 


14  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


he  saw  in  the  former  a sage  and  hero  ruling  the  uni- 
verse by  his  virtues,  the  latter  he  designated  a Trajan 
to  whom  not  the  least  infamous  of  his  three  mistresses 
was  an  Egeria.  There  was  also  a brotherhood  possess* 
ing  just  views  and  a fine  philosophical  spirit  of  inquiry 
which  chose  the  middle  path,  finding  truth  by  investiga- 
tion and  justice  in  moderation.  No  more  brilliant  gal- 
axy sparkles  in  any  literary  sphere  than  that  composed 
of  Montesquieu,  Quesnay,  and  Turgot.  But  while  their  in- 
fluence was  potent  in  England  and  America,  a more  bale- 
ful star  controlled  the  thought  of  the  French  masses. 
Rousseau  was  an  uncontrolled  tempest  with  passionate, 
ignorant,  but  eloquent  zeal ; he  painted  in  vivid  colors 
the  impotence  of  a decayed  past,  the  hopelessness  and 
despair  of  the  present,  and  then  declared  himself  the 
prophet  of  a new  dispensation,  that  of  nature,  the  oracle 
of  a new  era,  that  of  the  people.  The  social  compact, 
popular  sovereignty,  the  renovation  of  society  from  the 
lowest  stratum,  these  were  his  engaging  and  seductive 
teachings.  But  he  forgot  the  personal  worth  of  man  in 
the  exaltation  of  men  ; civil  power  with  him  was  a re- 
ligion, dissenters  were  to  be  killed  or  banished,  revolu- 
tion must  be  a devastation,  the  new  democracy  a despot- 
ism. Unfortunately  there  were  a few  in  America  who 
also  listened  to  his  siren  voice  and  laid  up  his  teachings 
in  their  hearts  to  work  mischief,  small  indeed,  but  yet,  at 
a critical  moment,  mischief. 

Even  in  England  itself  there  was  a movement  akin  to 


that  on  the  Continent.  Free-thinkers  of  every  shade  had 
sought  a historic  confirmation  of  their  views 

The  i t e e ~ 

thinkers  of  in  the  English  Revolution  and  its  conse- 
quences. A just  or  perverted  interpretation 
of  English  institutions  was  the  stock  in  trade  of  every 
political  philosopher,  and  most  felt  that  for  a rounded 
system  the  metaphysic  and  theology  of  the  past  must  also 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  THE  ENGLISH  COLONIES  15 


be  denied  or  replaced.  The  English  deists  attacked  the 
Bible  and  Christianity  as  part  of  a worn-out  system. 
Locke  converted  thought  into  substance.  Hartley  held 
the  soul  to  be  flesh  and  blood,  and  others  followed 
Hume  in  reducing  the  sensuous  theory  of  knowledge 
to  an  absurdity  in  the  conclusion  of  nescience.  They 
had  their  school  largely  among  the  Great,  so  called,  but 
a conservative  and  loyal  devotion  to  their  old  institutions 
in  church  and  state  characterized  the  people,  both  Eng- 
lish and  Scotch,  and  prevented  the  general  spread  of 
radical  views.  Nor  was  America  as  yet  directly  affected 
by  them.  Indirectly,  however,  a work  was  accomplished 
of  vital  importance  to  the  political  and  religious  feeling 
of  the  colonists.  Materialism  is  always  the  last  worn-out 
phase  of  a philosophical  epoch,  and  with  intellectual 
apathy  there  is  always  physical  inactivity.  The  harvest 
of  free  institutions  raised  by  the  events  of  1688  was 
reaped  in  both  England  and  Scotland.  But  in  Ireland 
what  gleanings  there  were  had  been  gathered  by  the 
Anglican  establishment,  while  the  Irish  themselves  were, 
through  the  indifference  of  the  English  ruling  classes, 
thrown  into  even  lower  depths  than  those  into  which  the 
conquests  of  Cromwell  had  cast  them. 

Generations  of  oppression  had  numbed  all  enterprise 
in  the  Homan  Catholic  inhabitants  of  Ireland,  and  if  it 
had  been  otherwise  the  very  intensity  of  Protestant  feel- 
ing in  England  would  have  made  it  impossible  for  them 
to  secure  the  religious  liberty  which  the  Scotch  had 
wrung  from  the  sister  kingdom.  No  one  but 
members  of  the  English  establishment  could  olic  disabl'd- 
hold  office  under  the  Test  Act,  and  to  one-  bes’ 
tenth  of  the  population  was  thereby  entrusted  the  entire 
control  of  government.  Their  methods  were  identical 
with  those  by  which  the  landed  gentry  of  England  ruled 
at  home.  Boroughs  were  so  constituted  and  the  people 


16  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


so  overawed,  that  the  great  proprietors  were  able  to 
nominate  two-thirds  of  its  members  to  the  Irish  House 
of  Commons.  It  was  the  least  of  the  disabilities  of 
Roman  Catholics  that  they  were  disfranchised.  The  truth 
sounds  to  us  as  if  it  must  be  a lying  fiction.  But  it  is  a 
fact  that,  among  many  other  outrages,  they  were  dis- 
barred iu  courts  of  law  and  thus  hampered  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  civil  rights  ; that  they  were  forbidden  to  hold 
even  the  lowest  office  of  trust  or  profit,  and  thus  robbed 
of  possible  influence  ; that  they  were  so  restricted  in  trade 
and  manufactures  as  to  quench  all  enterprise  and  prevent 
the  creation  of  a powerful  mercantile  class.  If  a priest 
married  a Romanist  to  a Protestant  he  was  to  be  hanged  ; 
for  a Roman  Catholic  to  teach  was  felony  ; to  seek  an 
education  abroad  subjected  all  concerned  to  forfeiture 
of  land  and  goods.  The  training  of  priests,  and  relig- 
ious worship  according  to  the  Roman  rite,  were  subject 
to  painful  and  disgraceful  restrictions.  Since  the  begin- 
ning of  English  control,  six-sevenths  of  the  land  had 
come  into  the  possession  of  landlords  representing  a for- 
eign and  despotic  civilization.  The  antipath}’  to  them 
felt  by  their  tenants  created  a system  of  oppression  and 
extortion  for  the  collection  of  rents.  None  but  a Prot- 
estant might  purchase  land,  or  lease  it,  or  lend  money 
on  a mortgage.  If  the  oldest  son  were  a Protestant  he 
inherited  the  entire  landed  estate  of  his  father,  other- 
wise it  was  equally  divided.  Catholic  children  could  have 
only  a Protestant  guardian.  It  is  impossible  to  exag- 
gerate the  shamefulness  of  English  misrule  in  Ireland  in 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

There  was  another  class  in  Ireland,  about  equal  in 
number  to  the  ruling  oligarchy,  which  fared  only  a little 
Scotch-irieh  better  than  the  Roman  Catholic  natives.  Un- 
Presbyterians.  qcr  james  I.  six  counties  of  Ulster  had  es- 
cheated to  the  crown  and  were  settled  by  Scotch  Pres- 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  THE  ENGLISH  COLONIES  17 


bvterians.  This  settlement  had  steadily  grown  in  num- 
bers and  importance.  Its  loyalty  had  been  intense  until 
under  Queen  Anne.  By  the  influence  of  the  Episcopa- 
lians, who  then  began  to  feel  stronger  and  more  inde- 
pendent, a statute  was  enacted,  the  notorious  Test  Act, 
which  forbade  them  to  hold  any  magistracy  or  engage 
in  the  public  service  unless  they  should  receive  the  sac- 
raments according  to  the  English  rite.  Their  business 
enterprise  was  limited  in  the  most  harassing  way.  The 
restriction  put  by  Parliament  on  the  sale  and  manufac- 
ture of  wool,  ruined  the  most  promising  industry  of  Ire- 
land ; her  merchants  were  also  shut  off  from  the  colonial 
trade,  and  as  the  Presbyterians  were  chiefly  farmers, 
their  prosperity  was  diminished  almost  to  the  vanishing 
point.  Their  temper  would,  however,  brook  no  tyranny. 
In  a foreign  land  they  had  cherished  the  traditions  of 
their  race,  and  were  in  their  exile  more  tenacious  of  the 
doctrine  and  system  of  Calvin  and  Knox  than  their  co- 
religionists in  Scotland.  Their  church  organization  was 
quite  as  perfect  as  that  of  the  Kirk,  and  more  active, 
because  of  the  defiant  attitude  it  was  compelled  to 
assume  toward  the  High  Church  establishment  which 
touched  them  at  every  point  because  the  Toleration  Act 
had  not  been  enacted  for  Ireland.  They  were  unlike  the 
Homan  Catholics  in  that  they  could  and  did  openly  and 
regularly  celebrate  their  sacraments,  perform  their  wor- 
ship, and  discharge  all  ecclesiastical  functions  at  marri- 
age and  death.  Their  judicatories,  too,  sat  regularly 
and  transacted  their  business  successfully.  The  minis- 
ters received  also  a kind  of  legal  recognition  in  the 
Regium  Donum,  which  was  a pittance  of  twelve  hundred 
pounds  sterling  per  annum.  But  a large  minority,  if 
not  a majority,  of  the  Scotch-Irish  resembled  the  Ro- 
man Catholics  in  one  vital  point,  a bitter  hatred  of  the 
British  Government. 


18  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


One  and  the  same  door  of  escape  was  open  to  the  bet- 
ter and  more  energetic  men  of  both  sorts,  and  they  used 
it  in  enormous  numbers.  The  Roman  Catlio- 
gration  to  the  lies  naturally  emigrated  to  lands  where  their 
continent.  own  confession  was  dominant,  and  in  France, 
Spain,  Austria,  and  even  in  Russia,  the  number  of  Mile- 
sian names  distinguished  in  the  public  service  attests 
the  superb  qualities  of  intellect,  endurance,  and  enter- 
prise with  which  their  owners  were  endowed.  They 
were  alike  famous  in  church  and  state,  illustrious  in  the 
chancery  and  at  the  bar.  In  Russia  there  were  Browne 
and  Lacy  ; in  France,  Clare,  Dillon,  Tyrconnel,  and  Lally  ; 
in  Austria,  Browne,  Maguire,  Lacy,  Nugent,  and  O’Don- 
nell ; in  Spain,  O’Mahony,  O’Donnell,  O’Glara,  and  Bowles. 
One  wonders  which  is  the  more  eminent  fact : the  nat- 
ural leaders  of  a people  so  small  and  oppressed  as  the 
Irish  overcoming  all  the  disadvantages  of  alienage,  and  ac- 
quiring distinction  in  the  great  nations  of  Europe  ; or  a 
people  deprived  of  its  finest  minds,  retaining  its  individ- 
uality and  institutions  almost  intact  under  a misrule  the 
aim  of  which  was  annihilation. 

A few  Protestants  also  went  to  Roman  Catholic  lands, 
notably  to  France,  and  a few  settled  in  Germany,  but 
influence  of  by  far  the  largest  number  foEowed  the  lines 
iriitfmAmcr1  °f  newly  awakened  Scotch  enterprise.  The 
ica-  American  commerce  of  Glasgow  had  been 

created  by  the  Union,  but  it  was  already  enormous.  It 
was  estimated  that  for  some  years  after  the  famines  of 
1740  and  1741,  twelve  thousand  persons  annually  left 
Ulster  alone  in  Scotch  ships,  while,  as  late  as  1773,  as 
many  as  half  that  number  left  Irish  ports  each  year  for 
the  West  Indies  and  the  North  American  continent. 
Virginia,  Carolina,  and  Georgia  took  the  largest  num- 
ber, although  in  Pennsylvania  they  eventually  became 
one  of  three  foremost  elements  in  the  population,  and 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  TIIE  ENGLISH  COLONIES  19 


many  important  districts  of  New  England  were  exclu- 
sively settled  by  them.  On  every  side  they  disseminated 
their  views  of  the  relation  between  the  civil  magistrate 
and  the  Church,  their  hatred  of  oppression,  and  their 
particular  indignation  with  the  English  Government  as 
they  knew  it.  They  quickly  displayed  an  aptitude  for 
settlement,  for  public  life,  and  for  fighting  when  it  was 
necessary.  Throughout  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century  they  were  one  of  the  most  important  formative 
influences  in  colonial  society — an  influence  which  was,  it 
is  needless  to  say,  distinctly  antagonistic  to  interference 
by  Parliament. 

From  the  very  beginning  there  had  been  a temper  of 
intolerance  to  all  Roman  Catholics  in  every  colony  ex- 
cept three : Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey. 
In  the  latter  colony  they  were  granted  civil  and  religious 
rights,  but  were  not  permitted  to  perform  the  duties  of 

citizenship.  In  Maryland  they  had  shown  a „ 

J J Roman 

feeling  of  the  largest  tolerance  to  the  Protes-  Catholics  in 
tants.  Although  the  .administration  was  in 
their  hands  they  were  in  a minority,  and  the  temper  of 
the  colony  had  always  been  strongly  for  religious  liberty. 
In  1689  the  Association  for  the  Defence  of  the  Protestant 
Religion  seized  the  political  power,  and  for  a short  time 
persecuted  the  Roman  Catholics.  Two  years  later  a roy- 
al governor  was  appointed  and  the  Church  of  England 
established  by  law,  but  their  condition  was  not  amelio- 
rated. In  New  York  the  laws  against  them  were  most 
harsh.  Taking  the  population  of  the  colonies  as  a 
whole,  the  Roman  Catholics  were  comparatively  very 
few  in  number,  their  power  slight,  and  it  was  asserted 
that  where  they  could,  they  instigated  the  Jesuits  to 
strengthen  French  influence  with  the  Indians.  The 
charge  had  little  or  no  foundation  in  fact. 

And  yet  the  colonists  were  loyal  Englishmen.  Such 


20  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


discontent  as  there  was  smouldered  beneath  the  surface 
and  diminished  in  intensity  as  its  causes  lost  directness 
through  distance  from  their  source.  The 
American  loy-  prosperity  oi  the  people  was  unexampled,  the 
alty'  subjugation  of  a rich  land  which,  though  a 

wilderness,  yielded  ample  returns  to  every  exertion,  gave 
abundant  outlet  to  all  their  energies  ; the  more  ardent 
spirits  had  ample  scope  for  enterprise  in  exploration  and 
amid  the  dangers  of  pioneer  life.  For,  above  all  other 
considerations  one  was  ever  present : the  existence  of  the 
aborigines  on  every  side,  and  on  two  sides,  to  the  north 
and  west,  of  a civilization  apparently  in  league  with  the 
savage,  and  hostile  in  every  element  to  the  democratic 
institutions  most  cherished  in  the  continental  colonies  of 
the  English  crown. 

The  unknowable  factor  in  their  destinies  was  the  im- 
mediate neighborhood,  both  in  Canada  and  in  the  valley 
of  the  Mississippi,  of  the  power  which  still  stood  in 
France  in  Europe  for  medievalism  and  despotism,  and 

America.  which  would,  if  successful  in  America,  perpet- 
uate a system  of  society  hostile  to  their  development  and 
their  destiny.  Another  France  was  at  their  door  mena- 
cing their  industrial  and  social  empire,  and  it  was  not 
unnatural  that  the  centuries  of  English  and  French  ri- 
valry should  be  recalled  to  inspire  the  feeling  that  they 
were  the  England,  as  Canada  was  the  France,  of  Ameri- 
ca. On  this  side,  moreover,  there  was  between  the  two 
no  natural  barrier  of  ocean,  narrow  or  otherwise.  They 
were  aspirants  for  the  same  continent  with  no  stormy 
arm  of  the  sea  to  keep  them  apart.  Physical  causes  were 
not  conspicuous  in  the  evident  separation  of  two  nation- 
alities with  distinct  territories  and  different  tasks.  On 
the  contrary,  the  conformation  of  the  continent  and  its 
adjacent  seas  but  served  to  make  the  conflict  of  interests 
more  desperate. 


INSTITUTIONS  OF  TIIE  ENGLISH  COLONIES  21 


Tlie  fisheries  on  the  high  seas  near  Newfoundland,  in 
the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  about  the  eastward  penin- 
sulas and  islands,  were  of  great  importance,  The  fisher_ 
first  in  the  actual  value  of  the  fish  caught,  1CS  ciuesllou- 
and  second,  to  a still  higher  degree,  in  the  practice  of 
seamanship  secured  to  those  who  engaged  in  them. 
There  never  was  a question  as  to  the  right  of  fishing 
in  the  high  seas,  but  it  was  held  that  the  fisheries 
within  the  limit  of  territorial  waters  belonged  to  the 
power  which  held  the  shore.  Even  now  certain  questions 
in  international  law  as  to  capes,  headlands,  and  the  in- 
cluded waters,  are  open  ; in  those  days  the  men  of  New 
England  had,  unforbidden  and  for  generations,  pursued 
their  calling  in  the  great  expanse  of  waters,  itself  an  in- 
land sea,  where  the  St,  Lawrence  debouches  into  the 
Atlantic  ; they  felt  themselves,  therefore,  to  have  a pre- 
scriptive right  in  waters  not  a portion,  according  to  our 
modern  definition,  of  the  high  seas  ; but  the  right  was 
even  then  disputed.  The  question,  in  many  of  its  forms 
and  consequences,  is  still  a subject  of  international  ne- 
gotiation, and  is  so  difficult  and  nice  that  it  sometimes 
threatens  the  peace  of  the  world.  At  the  time  of  our 
narrative  the  contention  lay  between  the  French  and 
English  in  America  ; after  our  independence  the  United 
States  and  England  were  chiefly  concerned.  It  is  a cu- 
rious instance  of  the  return  of  an  old  historic  phase, 
that  English  colonies  and  France  have  lately  been  once 
more  the  parties  in  interest. 


CHAPTER  HI 


THE  ENGLISH  AND  FRENCH  IN  NORTH  AMERICA  — 

1688-1756 

The  Mississippi  Valley — French  Possessions  and  Ambitions— Conli- 
nental  Lines  of  Communication — Contrast  between  the  Strength 
and  Aims  of  England  and  France— Divergent  Institutions  of 
the  Two  Peoples — The  Conflict  to  be  Decided  in  America — 
Preparatory  Negotiations  and  Measures — The  Aborigines  of 
the  South — The  Algonquins  and  Iroquois— Their  Institutions 
and  Religion — Their  Character  and  Domestic  Economy — Their 
Relations  to  the  Colonists — Indian  Alliances — Character  of 
English  Intercourse  with  the  Red  Men — William  Johnson  and 
the  Iroquois — Summary  of  the  Situation. 

Geographical  influences  and  physical  causes  in  general 
are  too  often  over-estimated  in  determining  political  and 
other  moral  results.  But  it  is  impossible  to  understand 
the  course  of  American  history  without  noticing  the  con- 
figuration of  the  North  American  continent  and  its  re- 
lations to  Europe.  The  great  Mississippi  Valley,  which 
The  M'ssissip-  ^.Y  its  wide  outstretched  arms  binds  together 
pi  Valley.  tpe  mountain  chains  and  seaboards  of  the 
east  and  west  into  a strangely  assorted  but  powerful 
union,  was  the  prize  for  which  England  and  France  were 
contesting  in  America.  At  the  headwaters  of  the  Ohio 
the  English  colonies  were  nearer  to  its  limits,  but  there 
intervened  a long  stretch  of  forest  wilderness  not 
perfectly  explored.  There  was  a circuitous  route  by  the 
Hudson  and  Mohawk  Valleys  into  the  more  level  forest 
lands  which  extended  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Allegheny 
River,  but  the  tract  of  country  was  the  home  of  the 


ENGLISH  AND  FRENCH  IN  NORTH  AMERICA  23 


powerful  Indian  confederacy  of  the  Six  Nations.  Around 
by  the  water-shed  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  Spain  blocked 
the  way,  and  the  southern  Indians  were  quite  as  unreli- 
able, though  not  as  fierce,  as  those  to  the  north.  The  few 
and  scattered  English  settlements  in  the  Mississippi 
Valley  had  been  made  by  the  mountain  pioneers,  there- 
fore, and  were  in  the  main  at  the  headwaters  or  in  the  in- 
tervales of  the  great  streams  tributary  to  the  Father  of 
Waters. 

The  French  were  in  possession  of  the  valley  of  the  St. 
Lawrence.  By  wTav  of  the  great  lakes,  which  they  dis- 
covered and  explored,  they  had  a waterway  to 
the  threshold  of  the  Ohio  Valley  and  to  the  sessions  ^and 
very  headwaters  of  the  Mississippi  itself.  amb!tl0ns- 
Their  explorations  had  been  vastly  more  extended  in  the 
heart  of  the  continent  than  those  of  the  English  colo- 
nists, their  mission  stations  and  factories  were  more 
numerous  and  better  equipped.  The  mouth,  too,  of  the 
great  central  river  was  under  their  control  through  the 
settlement  of  New  Orleans,  and  it  was  a natural  desire 
that  led  them  to  establish  a chain  of  stations  connecting 
the  countries  claimed  by  them  around  the  great  lakes 
with  their  possessions  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  water- 
sheds therefore  of  the  St.  Lawrence  system,  including  the 
inland  seas  which  feed  it,  and  of  the  Mississippi,  seemed 
to  the  French  their  destined  empire.  This  would,  of 
course,  have  given  them  such  a territorial  preponderance 
on  the  continent  as  to  reduce  the  English  to  insignificance. 
They  had  had  singular  success  in  their  dealings  with  the 
Indians.  It  seemed  probable  that,  as  in  Central  and 
South  America,  the  Latin  race  would  here  again  com- 
mingle its  blood  with  that  of  the  native  races,  to  intro- 
duce an  imperfect  though  persistent  civilization  through- 
out lands  capable  of  sustaining  an  enormous  population, 
and  as  favorable  to  a high  civilization  as  Europe  itself. 


24  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


The  established  track  of  communication  between  the 

eastern  sea-shore  and  the  seat  of  French  control  was  by 

c t j the  Hudson  Valley,  Lake  Champlain,  and  the 

lines  of  com-  Richelieu  River.  Along  these  lines  took  place 
mun  .cation.  . n jii  j_  i n • i 

every  movement  ot  settlement  and  conflict, 
but  the  French  had  a decided  advantage  in  their  owner- 
ship of  the  St.  Lawrence,  which  -was  at  the  same  time  the 
easiest  thoroughfare  and  also,  in  actual  distance,  closer  to 
the  European  base  of  supplies  than  any  point  in  the  col- 
onies. It  was,  to  be  sure,  for  many  long  months  in  the 
winter  blockaded  by  ice,  but  in  summer,  when  the  opera- 
tions of  trade  and  colonization  were  most  active,  the  near- 
ness of  its  mouth  both  in  latitude  and  longitude  to  the 
great  seaports  of  Europe,  combined  -with  the  navigability 
of  its  mighty  stream  for  a long  distance  inland,  gave  to 
its  harbors  a marked  advantage  over  those  in  the  South. 
As  yet  the  victories  of  enterprise  in  building  roads  and 
canals  to  outweigh  natural  disadvantages,  had  not  been 
won,  and  are  not  in  this  narrative  to  be  taken  into 
account. 

The  territorial  expansion  of  France  had  an  object  quite 
different  from  that  of  England.  In  both  there  was  much 
religious  zeal,  but  in  the  English  colonies  it  took  the 
contrast  be-  form  primarily  of  a desire  to  secure  liberty  of 
strength  *'1113  worship  for  the  settlers  ; the  conversion  of 

aims  of  Eng-  tli e heathen  followed  as  a corollarv.  In  Hew 

land  and  v 

France.  France  the  latter  was  ostensibly  the  main 

object,  and  the  colonists  were  men  enlisted  for  a purpose 
rather  than  volunteer  emigrants.  In  both  there  was  a 
strong  commercial  element,  but  the  English  looked  for 
permanency  to  agriculture  and  the  development  of  large 
communities,  while  the  French,  concerned  for  the  fur 
trade,  the  exigencies  of  which  kept  their  depots  small, 
scattered  their  immigrants  over  a wide  extent  of  coun- 
try, and  made  their  posts  dependent  on  military  garri- 


ENGLISH  AND  FRENCH  IN  NORTH  AMERICA  25 

sons  for  security.  These  diverging  policies  had  kept 
New  France  in  the  most  intimate  connection  with  the 
centralized,  hierarchical,  and  despotic  administration  of 
a government  and  court  thousands  of  miles  away,  while 
the  English  had  enjoyed  a substantial  autonomy  and 
had  developed  democratic  institutions.  The  French  had 
all  the  strength  of  an  ever-active  political  power  immedi- 
ately supporting,  supplying,  and  directing  them,  as  long 
as  that  power  was  itself  strong.  But  when  its  atten- 
tion and  energies  were  monopolized  elsewhere,  it  was 
seen  that  they  were  weak  as  children  are  when  sud- 
denly deprived  of  parental  sustenance  and  guidance. 
The  English  were  weak  also  in  their  divided  interests 
and  lack  of  harmonious  action  under  one  organization, 
but  they  were  strong  in  their  self-reliance,  in  the  mutual 
help  of  neighboring  communities,  and  in  a commerce 
which  had  grown  up,  not  by  artificial  forcing  but  in  spite 
of  the  disfavor  of  the  home  government. 

Since  1688,  moreover,  the  wdiole  spirit  of  each  of  the 
two  peoples,  on  both  sides  of  the  ocean,  had  been  changed. 
In  one  there  had  been  created  popular  institutions,  new 
force  had  been  infused  into  constitutional  government, 
the  industrial  classes  had  been  recognized  as  an  in- 
dependent element  in  society,  and  the  em-  Divergent 
phasis  in  the  distribution  of  power  had  been  Sf’ two°npeo- 
laid  on  a legislature  which  was  in  part,  at  Fes. 
least,  representative,  and  the  controlling  rather  than 
the  regulating  arm  of  monarchical  rule.  In  the  other 
the  crowm  had  absorbed  every  public  function,  the  peo- 
ple were  mere  taxpayers,  every  activity  of  society  had 
its  origin  from  above,  and  the  spontaneity  of  the  mass- 
es was  more  and  more  limited  to  the  sphere  of  private 
life. 

In  this  way  the  question  of  supremacy  in  America  had 
acquired  a significance  transcending  the  sphere  of  local 


26  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


interests  and  national  aggrandizement.  The  interest  of 
the  whole  world  of  thought  and  letters  was  also  awakened, 
and  a few  men  of  prophetic  vision  began  to 

The  conflict  ^ ^ ^ 

to  be  decided  see  and  say  that  the  destinies  of  European 
in  Amedca.  ......  , , , , .... 

civilization  were  to  be  determined  m America. 

The  preliminaries  to  the  solution  of  this  momentous 
problem  lay  partly  in  diplomacy,  but  to  a greater  extent 
in  the  question  of  possession.  The  clearer  apprehension 
of  those  on  the  spot  disregarded  negotiation  as  futile,  and 
. , turned  to  the  latter  as  alone  conclusive.  After 

Prefatory  ne- 
gotiations and  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  a commission  sat 
measures.  • , ... 

for  three  years  to  weigh  the  respective  claims 

of  England  and  France  in  America.  Those  of  France  in- 
cluded the  immense  territories  of  Louisiana  and  Canada, 
and  were  based  on  discovery,  exploration,  and  occupation. 
England  referred  to  the  original  charters  and  maps 
which  extended  the  east  and  west  lines  of  the  colonial 
grants  through  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  to  the  language 
of  the  treaty  of  Utrecht.  The  text  was  “ the  five  nations 
are  subject  to  the  dominion  of  England,”  and  this  was  in- 
terpreted by  the  British  to  mean  not  only  the  hereditary 
lands  of  that  confederacy,  but  also  the  Ohio  Valley  and 
the  lands  north  of  it  as  far  as  the  Mississippi,  which  they 
declared  had  been  conquered  by  the  Iroquois  in  1672. 
The  outcome  of  negotiations  conducted  with  such  pre- 
tensions was  of  course  nothing  at  all,  and  the  Paris  com- 
mission separated  without  accomplishing  anything.  In 
the  meantime,  however,  agents  of  the  respective  nations 
in  America  were  wide  awake.  The  French  governor  La 
Jonquiere  made  a request  for  ten  thousand  immigrants 
to  settle  the  Ohio  Valley,  for  he  saw  that  if  he  should  fail 
to  occupy  it  that  of  the  Mississippi  would  also  be  lost ; 
but  owing  to  the  state  of  French  finances  and  the  con- 
dition of  European  politics,  the  demand  was  unheeded. 
Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Ohio  Company  remitted 


ENGLISH  AND  FRENCH  IN  NORTH  AMERICA  27 


nothing  of  their  enterprise  in  trade  and  exploration  west 
of  the  Alleghenies.  The  French  began  in  1750  to  stir  up 
the  Indians  of  New  York  to  marauding  raids  westward, 
strengthened  their  fleet  on  Lake  Ontario,  and  built  new 
works  at  Niagara.  In  1752  they  commenced  to  attack 
the  English  pioneers  in  Ohio,  and  in  1753  they  descended 
the  Allegheny  in  force,  disregarded  the  summons  sent  by 
Virginia,  drove  off  the  English  backwoodsmen  who  had 
begun  to  fortify  the  naturally  strong  point  at  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Allegheny  and  Monongahela,  and  on  that 
commanding  position  themselves  erected  a fort  which 
was  called,  in  honor  of  the  new  governor  of  Canada,  Fort 
Duquesne.  As  far  as  the  white  population  of  North 
America  was  concerned,  everything  was  ready  to  topple 
the  unstable  equilibrium  of  claim  and  counterclaim  at  a 
moment’s  notice. 

The  relation  of  the  aborigines  to  the  impending  strug- 
gle was  a matter  of  vital  importance.  It  may  not  be 
amiss  to  recall  that,  among  the  primitive  inhabitants  of 
America,  climate  seems  to  have  had  a deter-  ^ 

mining  influence  in  the  formation  and  fixity  gines  of  the 
of  social  life.  The  most  complex  civilization 
was  that  in  Central  America  and  Mexico.  The  Florida 
Indians — Seminoles,  Cherokees,  Chickasaws,  Choctaws, 
and  Creeks — were  less  subject  to  customary  law,  and  were 
therefore  receptive  to  the  example  of  the  settlers.  With 
the  exception  of  the  Cherokees,  they  spoke  various  dia- 
lects of  the  same  tongme,  but,  including  these,  all  were 
by  this  time  in  great  measure  a settled  agricultural  peo- 
ple, giving  only  an  occasional  exhibition  of  their  former 
nomadic  tendencies.  But  there  was  no  true  kindness 
between  them  and  the  English,  nor  mutual  confidence. 
Self-interest  was  as  certainly  their  ruling  principle  as  it 
was  among  their  congeners  to  the  north.  Life  was  easy 
under  southern  skies,  and  the  immense  territory  over 


28  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


which  they  ruled,  extending  as  it  did  from  the  Gulf  to 
the  Tennessee,  was  scarcely  to  be  called  inhabited,  for 
their  numbers  did  not  probably  exceed  fifty  thousand  at 
any  time,  and  wrere  not  sufficient  for  effective  occupation. 
Their  country  was  not  in  dispute  between  the  English 
and  French,  their  contact  with  Europeans  was  not  very 
close,  and  as  there  were  few  mutual  injuries,  there  were 
correspondingly  few  exhibitions  of  ferocity  or  savagery. 
When,  many  years  later,  they  were  wronged  by  the 
United  States,  their  display  of  courage,  guile,  and  per- 
sistence was  second  to  no  other  in  the  history  of  border 
warfare. 

To  the  north  of  these  southern  natives,  known  as  the 

Gulf,  Florida,  or  Mobile  Indians,  lay  what  was  now  and 

had  long  been  the  debatable  land  of  the  Algonquins, 

The  ai  on  sketching  eastward  from  the  Mississippi  and 

quins  andTro-  northward  to  the  limits  of  the  Hyperboreans 
quois.  . . ^ A 

or  Esquimaux.  vV  lthm  it  were  two  peoples, 

differing  in  origin,  habits,  and  speech.  The  Algonquins 
themselves,  or  Delawares,  had  been  the  original  owners 
and  were  a homogeneous  people,  divided  into  confed- 
eracies and  tribes  speaking  modifications  of  one  lan- 
guage. But  in  their  very  heart,  occupying  the  district 
immediately  south  of  Lake  Ontario  and  Lake  Erie,  was 
a people  of  altogether  different  origin,  if  speech  and 
appearance  are  trustworthy  indications,  the  Iroquois. 
They  were  known  at  first  as  the  Five  Nations,  from  their 
tribal  division  into  the  Mohawks,  Oneidas,  Onondagas, 
Cayugas,  and  Senecas.  In  1713  another  tribe,  the  Tus- 
earoras,  from  North  Carolina,  joined  the  confederacy  and 
formed  “The  Six  Nations.”  In  the  course  of  time  the  Dela- 
wares had  succumbed  to  the  superior  race.  The  Iroquois 
combined  in  a higher  degree  than  any  others  the  qualifies 
of  craft,  energy,  courage,  and  intelligence.  The  name  of 
the  best  known  of  their  tribes,  the  Mohawks,  has  passed 


ENGLISH  AND  FRENCH  IN  NORTH  AMERICA  29 


into  literature  as  a symbol  of  ferocity  and  treachery. 
The  poetic  fancy  of  our  fathers  saw  in  the  combination 
of  personal  independence  and  successful  organization 
which  they  secured  by  their  social  system,  an  ideal  for 
the  rising  white  democracy,  and  adopted  many  of  their 
national  and  tribal  names  as  characteristic  of  American 
life.  They  stand  in  our  fancy  as  the  type  of  the  Red 
Indian  ; stern,  cruel,  and  desperate  in  the  face  of  foes  ; 
ambitious,  politic,  and  eloquent  in  diplomacy  ; endowed 
with  the  primitive  virtues  of  self-respect,  self-control,  and 
honor  in  dealing  with  each  other  ; physically  erect,  well- 
proportioned,  and  beautiful ; familiar  with  the  secrets 
of  nature,  conversant  with  the  woods,  using  the  forest, 
plain,  and  stream  with  equal  ease  for  purposes  of  trav- 
el, concealment,  or  warfare  ; thus  approaching  somewhat 
our  visions  of  man  in  a golden  age. 

The  truth  is  perhaps  far  enough  from  such  concep- 
tions, but  with  all  our  modem  coldness  we  are  forced  to 
admit,  even  in  the  light  of  more  accurate  knowledge,  that 
there  was  an  intensely  heroic  element  in  the  story  of  the 
Hodenosaunee,  as  they  called  themselves.  Conservative 
estimates  place  their  numbers  at  about  seventeen  thou- 
sand, of  whom  never  more  than  four  thousand  were  war- 
riors. Their  origin  is  unknown,  but  their  historic  seat 
was  a place  whence  waters  flowed  in  one  direction  to  the 
Atlantic,  both  through  the  lakes  by  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  by  the  headwaters  of  the  Hudson,  in  another  to  the 
Gulf  by  the  Allegheny  and  the  Ohio  ; while  the  water- 
sheds of  the  Susquehanna  and  the  Delaware  enabled  them 
to  reach  yet  a third  important  district  with  ease.  It 
was  not  accident  but  the  highest  intelligence  . . 

. . ° p Their  msti- 

which  put  them  m such  a centre  of  radiating  tntions  and  re- 
lines of  control.  Their  organization  was  at 
the  same  time  close-knit  and  elastic,  being  a combination 
of  two  primitive  institutions,  the  tribe  and  the  totem. 


30  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


The  former  -was  an  association  based  largely  on  ex- 
pediency and  consent.  There  was  but  one  official,  the 
sachem,  whose  position  was  hereditary,  but  was  also,  by 
a reversion  to  the  very  earliest  custom,  in  the  female 
line,  and  could  not  therefore  reside  in  one  family  long 
enough  to  create  privilege.  The  tribal  relation  was  use- 
ful for  holding  councils,  which  took  place  in  houses  built 
of  bark  for  the  purpose  ; but  there  seems  to  have  been  no 
law  except  custom,  no  force  except  of  a moral  nature, 
and  no  obedience  to  formal  results  of  deliberation  except 
by  individual  consent.  Personal  liberty  was  absolute, 
even  to  the  exercise  of  a caprice  dangerous  to  others. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  was  a bond  of  natural  union 
more  powerful  in  such  a society  than  we  can  conceive. 
If  the  nation  sprang  originally  from  one  pair  to  whom 
were  born  eight  sons,  each  having  as  a device  a plant  or 
a familiar  animal  like  the  turtle,  wolf,  bear,  or  eagle,  the 
descendants  of  each  one  might  form  a clan,  every  mem- 
ber of  which  would  feel  a superstitious  reverence  for  the 
device  of  his  ancestor,  and  would  perhaps  in  time  come 
to  believe  himself  descended,  in  dim  ages  long  since  past, 
from  this  totem.  Two  conceptions  of  the  strongest  nat- 
ure would  thus  unite — a religious  or  superstitious  one, 
making  him  feel  binding  obligation  to  every  man  or 
woman  under  the  same  protection,  and  that  of  kinship, 
showing  that  his  highest  duty  was  toward  those  whose 
blood  relation  was  evident  from  their  possession  of  the 
same  totem.  Among  the  Iroquois  this  system  of  clan 
totemism  survived  in  perfection,  creating  an  eightfold 
division,  but  the  clan  and  the  tribe  were  entirely  differ- 
ent, every  clan  being  represented,  probably  by  inter- 
marriage, in  every  tribe.  The  national  bond  was  far 
stronger  than  the  tribal,  because  based,  as  we  would  say, 
upon  a common  worship  and  religion,  though  it  degrades 
and  violates  the  words  to  apply  them  to  totemism.  The 


ENGLISH  AND  FRENCH  IN  NORTH  AMERICA  31 


darkest  form  of  feticliism,  which  some  would  dignify  by 
the  name  of  ancestor-worship,  was  the  cement  of  their 
society,  but  their  spiritual  strivings  were  somewhat 
higher  in  character,  being  a form  of  nature-worship. 
Each  object  had  its  spirit  or  manitou,  and  among  these 
spiritual  essences  were  orders,  some  regulated  by  local- 
ity, some  by  inherent  inferiority  or  superiority,  but  the 
prevalent  notion  that  they  had  a conception  of  one  su- 
preme personal  spirit  is  false. 

In  the  arts  of  life  the  Iroquois  were  on  a low  level. 
They  built  and  inhabited  structures  of  beams  and  bark 
which  were  generally  large,  averaging  eighty  by  sixteen 
feet  in  dimensions,  while  some  were  more  Tbeir  char- 
than  a hundred  feet  in  length.  These  were  mestic^econ- 
to  them  the  chief  feature  of  their  life,  because  omy- 
they  often  designated  their  splendid  territory  as  The 
Long  House.  Within  these  buildings  were  numerous 


and  ingenious  arrangements  for  sleeping  and  eating,  for 
the  storage  of  fuel  and  provisions.  Each  sheltered 
several  families  in  compartments  constructed  under  the 
eaves,  the  floor-space  beneath  the  peak  being  reserved 
for  the  several  fires.  Their  vessels  were  of  coarse 
earthenware,  their  knives  and  arrow-heads  of  stone  ; 
their  pursuits  in  time  of  qteace  were  for  the  men  hunt- 
ing, and  for  the  women  agriculture,  which  they  brought 
to  a high  perfection.  They  had  apple  orchards  of  mature 
growth  and  extensive  fields  of  maize,  beans,  and  pump- 
kins. For  protection  the  dwellings  were  built  in 
clusters,  and  around  them,  in  the  shape  of  an  oval,  were 
erected  palisades  pierced  with  loop-holes,  under  which 
on  the  interior  stood  platforms  from  which  arrows  could 
be  shot  or  stones  hurled  at  the  intruder.  In  some  cases 
these  palisades  were  double  and  even  threefold.  One 
early  French  writer  states  that  the  loop-holes  vere  also 
furnished  with  water  pipes  to  extinguish  the  fires  which 


32  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


an  enemy  might  build  against  the  wooden  wall.  Their 
amusements  were  gambling,  feasting,  the  recital  of  witch 
and  ghost  tales,  the  practice  of  a gallantry  which  was 
offensive  even  to  their  own  remnants  of  morality,  and  the 
torture  of  victims  taken  in  war,  which  more  completely 
than  anything  else  tilled  them  with  joy.  They  inured 
themselves  to  the  necessary  fatigues  of  their  long 
marauding  expeditions,  which  extended  over  hundreds  of 
miles,  by  the  practice  of  many  admirable  out-door  sports, 
archery,  riding,  and  games  of  ball.  What  we  call  the 
treachery  of  the  Indian  was  to  him  the  easiest  means  of 
gratifying  the  passion  of  the  moment,  revenge,  desire,  or 
envy.  Labor,  menial  or  otherwise,  he  felt  in  his  over- 
weening and  childish  pride  to  be  beneath  his  station  ; his 
passions  were  those  of  an  animal,  and  the  qualities  which 
under  our  code  are  virtues — reverence  for  age,  admira- 
tion of  heroes,  the  endurance  of  hardship — sprang  from 
the  patriarchal  system  beyond  which  he  had  not  advanced. 

It  is  worth  while  to  contemplate  these  features  of  Iro- 
quois life,  because  they  were,  iu  a debased  form  and 
lower  degree,  the  characteristics  of  all  the  northern 
tribes  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Ocean,  who  dif- 
fered from  their  conquerors  only  in  the  im- 

Their  rela-  . 1 “ . 

tions  to  the  perfection  of  their  institutions,  being  more 
nomadic,  less  completely  organized,  and  not 
so  highly  endowed  with  natural  gifts.  They  stood  in 
terror  of  the  more  vigorous  and  ruthless  power  which 
struck  with  the  swiftness  of  lightning,  and  as  unex- 
pectedly. This  Algonquin  people,  however,  played  a 
more  important  role  than  even  the  Iroquois,  because  it 
was  on  their  land  that  our  ancestors  settled  in  the  larg- 
est numbers,  with  their  tribes  that  the  earlier  Indian 
warfare  was  waged  and  the  later  alliances  were  consum- 
mated with  them.  Some  investigators  think  that  at  one 
time  they  may  have  numbered  all  told  ninety  thousand, 


ENGLISH  AND  FRENCH  IN  NORTH  AMERICA  33 


others  go  as  low  as  forty  thousand  in  their  estimate. 
Their  great  tribes  were  the  Lenni  Lenape,  with  whom 
Penn  held  his  famous  council,  the  Shawnees  of  Ohio, 
the  Miamis,  the  Illinois,  the  Ojibwas,  the  Pottawatta- 
mies,  Ottawas,  Sacs,  Poxes,  and  Menomonies,  together 
with  the  Pequots  and  other  tribes  in  what  is  now  New 
England.  With  the  fourth  great  family  of  Red  Ind- 
ians, speaking  a fourth  tongue,  the  Dakotahs,  our  early 
history  has  nothing  to  do.  They  are  now,  as  they  were 
then,  more  savage,  more  restless,  more  wild  than  any  of  the 
others.  They  assimilate  with  difficulty  the  arts  of  peace, 
bid  defiance  to  European  civilization,  and  occuj)y  toward 
the  other  Indians  and  the  whites  of  to-day,  much  the  same 
position  as  the  Iroquois  had  a century  and  a half  ago. 

The  condition  of  Indian  affairs  at  the  outbreak  of  what 
was  called  in  the  colonies  the  Old  French  and  Indian 
War  was  a matter  of  great  importance.  In  a word,  and 
for  the  most  part,  the  Algonquins  were  allies  Indian  affi- 
of  the  French  and  the  Six  Nations  of  the  ances- 
English.  For  this  there  was  a double  reason.  The 
French  policy  of  conciliation  had  turned  their  Algonquin 
neighbors  into  hearty  friends.  It  was  easy  for  them  to 
humor  Indian  fondness  for  display.  In  the  course  of 
trade  large  numbers  of  the  red  men  paid  an  annual  visit 
to  the  Canadian  ports,  bringing  their  peltries  for  barter. 
They  were  welcomed  by  rolling  drums  and  booming 
cannon,  their  festivities  while  trading  were  shared  by 
their  hosts,  and  the  day  of  their  departure  was  again  a 
festival.  It  is  said  that  no  less  a personage  than  Fron- 
tenac  himself  donned  their  uncouth  but  picturesque  cos- 
tume and  engaged  in  their  dances.  Religious  zeal  sent 
the  missionaries  in  turn  into  the  remotest  bounds  of 
the  wilderness,  where  they  dwelt  among  the  savages, 
founded  settlements  which  were  often  turned  into  mili- 
tary posts,  and  kept  the  nations  constantly  familiar  with 


34  THE  FEENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


the  thought  of  French  interest  and  favor.  The  whole 
Canadian  system  seemed  suited  to  create  the  intimate 
relations  of  the  two  races.  A petty  feudal  nobility  easily 
made  place  for  red  retainers  among  a white  peasantry 
who  felt  no  degradation  in  the  intercourse.  To  an 
extreme  ecclesiastical  organism  like  that  of  Homan 
Catholicism  in  Jesuit  hands,  the  importance  of  the  savage 
was  not  less  than  that  of  the  civilized  man,  and  the 
child-like  vanity  of  the  former  was  gratified  by  the  zeal  of 
the  priest  for  his  salvation.  And  finally  the  light-hearted, 
adventurous  spirit  of  the  French  settlers,  soldiers,  and 
traders  had  a kind  of  natural  affinity  to  the  better  side 
of  their  allies,  the  Algonquins. 

The  second  reason  for  this  double  alliance  was  simply 
the  hostility  between  the  two  Indian  stocks  contending 
for  the  same  possessions.  There  was  no  fondness,  no 
unity  of  advantage,  no  affinity,  social  or  religious,  between 
the  Iroquois  and  the  people  of  the  colonies.  In  fact,  be- 
tween the  English  and  all  savages  whatsoever, 
En^hCinter-  there  was  a relation  of  mutual  suspicion  in 
thelReci0Men.h  maiby  places,  and  nowhere,  not  even  in  Penn- 
sylvania, a thorough  understanding  between 
the  colonists  and  the  aborigines.  William  Penn  had  first 
paid  the  Iroquois  and  then  the  Lenni  Lenape  for  the 
lands  they  both  claimed.  His  intercourse  with  the  latter 
was  just,  wise,  and  amicable,  but  their  behavior  tow7ard 
him  had  a wholesome  restraint  in  their  terror  of  the 
fierce  enemies  who  held  their  own  prior  bargain  with  the 
Quakers  to  be  conclusive.  But  as  generations  passed 
the  still  subjugated  descendants  of  Penn’s  friends  were 
crowded  into  the  outlying  valleys  of  the  Delaware,  the 
Susquehanna,  and  even  of  the  Juniata ; such  encroach- 
ments on  the  hunting  grounds  of  the  Delawares  produced 
first  irritation  and  then  bitter  hatred  toward  the  intruders. 
Finally  ill-feeling  was  created  even  among  the  Iroquois, 


ENGLISH  AND  FRENCH  IN  NORTH  AMERICA  35 


wlio  had  repeatedly  given  their  broken-spirited  subjects 
successive  assurances  of  peaceable  possession,  as  they  in 
turn  occupied  and  abandoned  the  tracts  assigned  them. 
When,  therefore,  the  French  had  approached  the  new 
seats  of  the  Delawares  on  the  Muskingum  and  Allegheny, 
they  found  the  Lenni  Lennape  as  ready  to  treat  with 
them  as  they  had  once  been  with  the  Pennsylvania  Eng- 
lish. In  the  earliest  days,  before  history,  the  hostile 
relations  of  the  Iroquois  and  Algonquins  had  been  estab- 
lished. The  French  often  accompanied  the  Algonquin 
war  parties  in  their  raids  into  Iroquois  territory.  On 
one  occasion  Champlain  appeared  in  front  of  the  lines  in 
shining  corselet  and  helm,  armed  with  an  arquebuse,  and 
shot  two  opposing  chiefs  already  exulting  in  victory. 
To  the  ignorant  savages  he  appeared  a supernatural 
being.  At  first  they  fled  in  dismay  to  cherish  their  hate, 
but  with  increasing  knowledge  they  came  to  scorn  the 
chicken-hearted  enemy  who  were  dependent  on  such  sup- 
port. Similar  occurrences  fanned  their  natural  hatred, 
until  at  the  opening  of  the  century  it  was  at  its  height. 
But  for  thirty  years  the  French  had  been  using  their 
diplomacy  with  the  Iroquois,  while  the  English  had  been 
indifferent  or  proudly  insulting  in  their  behavior.  The 
contempt  of  suffering,  the  endurance,  the  lofty  courage 
of  the  French  emissaries,  though  most  barbarously  and 
inhumanly  entreated,  seem  finally  to  have  moved  the  Iro- 
quois’ heart.  Their  forays  into  the  country  of  the  Cher- 
okees  and  Catawbas  in  Carolina  and  Virginia,  were  often 
thwarted  by  the  advancing  lines  of  English  pioneers,  and 
the  French  knew  how  to  fan  the  fires  of  discontent  thus 
lighted.  Finally,  in  1749,  the  missionary  Picquet  boldly 
advanced  into  their  land,  and  from  his  fortified  station 
where  Ogdensburg  now  stands,  so  wrought  and  schemed 
that  nearly  half  the  nation  seemed  to  be  under  his  sway. 

The  entire  defection  of  the  Iroquois  was  thwarted  by 


36  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


William  Johnson,  an  Irishman  of  high  birth,  from  the 
County  of  Meath,  who  had  settled  in  the  Mohawk  Valley 
near  the  site  of  Schenectady,  to  manage  es- 
johnson  and  tates  already  in  the  family  and  acquire  new 
the  iroquoib.  ones  for  himself.  His  character  and  conduct 
resembled  the  French  model  much  more  closely  than  the 
English.  He  acquired  the  language  of  the  Six  Nations, 
traded  with  them  in  honesty,  and  endeared  himself  to  them 
by  his  courtesy  and  perfect  good  faith.  He  became  at  last 
so  familiar  with  their  whole  social  structure,  their  tradi- 
tions, and  their  motives,  that  the  Mohawks  adopted  him 
and  gave  him  the  rank  of  sachem.  In  1744  Governor 
Clinton  appointed  him  colonel  of  the  Six  Nations,  in 
1745  the  province  made  him  commissary  for  Indian  af- 
fairs, and  in  1748  he  was  set  over  all  the  frontier  de- 
fences. In  17 50  the  King  gave  him  a seat  in  the  colonial 
council.  His  influence  was,  of  course,  constantly  exerted 
against  the  French,  and  with  great  success,  while  there 
was  an  ever-growing  good-will  on  the  part  of  the  Iro- 
quois. In  1753  the  colony  changed  its  Indian  policy 
and  angered  the  tribes.  After  effecting  a reconciliation 
with  the  savages  at  the  famous  council  fire  of  Onondaga, 
he  resigned.  The  next  year  saw  the  colonial  congress 
at  Albany  to  which  he  was  a delegate.  The  Indians 
were  summoned  to  deliberate  and  came.  But  it  was  to 
charge  the  English  with  neglect  and  rapacity,  and  they 
were  so  urgent  that  Johnson  should  be  re-appointed  as 
their  superintendent  that,  in  1755,  Braddock  consented 
and  gave  him  his  commission  at  Alexandria.  He  was  also 
made  a major-general,  and  put  in  command  of  the  expe- 
dition to  Crown  Point,  the  post  from  which  Canada  hoped 
to  control  the  country  which  is  now  Vermont  and  New 
Hampshire,  a territory  which  was  for  the  Puritan  frontiers- 
man much  what  the  Ohio  Valley  wTas  to  the  Virginian. 

Such  then  was  the  Indian  situation  : the  Iroquois,  few 


ENGLISH  AND  FRENCH  IN  NORTH  AMERICA  37 


in  number,  living  in  a small  country  of  the  highest  stra- 
tegic importance,  fierce  and  enterprising  beyond  all  their 
fellows,  the  hereditary  foes  of  the  Algonquins,  allied  to 
the  English  by  slender  ties,  and  honeycombed  summary  of 
with  disaffection  ; on  the  other  hand  the  Al-  the  equation, 
gonquins,  bound  to  the  French  by  every  tie  of  long  he- 
reditary friendship,  scattered  over  a splendid  and  ex- 
tended territory  and  outnumbering  the  Six  Nations 
four  to  one,  but  inferior  to  them  in  courage,  w'hile  at  the 
same  time  they  were  consumed  by  a sense  of  weakness 
and  wrong  which  they  traced  to  the  English  influence, 
and  of  course  thirsted  for  revenge.  To  complete  the 
situation  at  the  opening  of  1755,  we  must  remember 
that  the  French  and  English  forces  were  at  loggerheads 
in  Acadia,  the  commissioners  having  failed  to  agree  on 
the  limits  of  what  was  ceded  by  the  peace  of  Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle.  From  Fort  Frederic  or  Crown  Point  the  French 
menaced  New  England  and  New  York.  We  must  also 
recall  that  they  had  fortified  places  at  Ogdensburg  to 
control  the  Iroquois,  at  Niagara  to  command  the  western 
waterway,  at  Presqu’  Isle,  Le  Bceuf,  and  Yenango  to 
regulate  and  retain  the  line  of  trade  southward  from 
Lake  Erie,  and  Fort  Duquesne  to  command  the  whole 
Ohio  Valley.  While  in  the  far  West  their  posts  were  in 
a wilderness  and  separated  from  each  other  by  hundreds 
of  miles,  yet  by  means  of  Detroit,  St.  Joseph,  Vincennes, 
Cahokia,  Kaskaskia,  and  New  Orleans,  they  dominated 
the  expanse  of  Louisiana.  There  had  been  numerous 
minor  collisions  and  one  of  some  importance  at  Fort  Ne- 
cessity, near  the  forks  of  the  Ohio,  when  George  Wash- 
ington, on  July  4th,  1754,  after  a stubborn  resistance  to 
a superior  French  force,  had  capitulated  with  the  honors 
of  war.  In  the  conference  at  Fort  Le  Bceuf  and  in  the 
leadership  of  this  expedition,  that  memorable  name  ap- 
pears for  the  first  time  in  the  records  of  history. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR— 1755-1756 

European  Complications — Tlie  Combination  against  Frederick  the 
Great — -The  Newcastle  Ministry — General  Braddock — French 
Preparations — Demand  for  Colonial  Taxation — The  English 
Regulars  and  American  Militia — Braddock’s  Advance— The 
French  and  Indian  Ambuscade — The  Battle — Defeat  of  the 
Expedition — Acadia — Treatment  of  the  French  Farmers — Cap- 
ture of  the  French  Forts — Dispersion  of  the  Natives — Fort  Ni- 
agara— Johnson's  Successes — Fort  William  Henry— Plans  for 
Taxing  America. 

The  strained  relations  and  conflicting  interests  of 
France  and  England  in  North  America  made  it  impos- 
_ sible  for  events,  on  this  side  of  the  sea,  to  await 

European  3 3 

com  plica-  a formal  declaration  of  the  war,  and  while 
tions. 

hostilities  did  not  formally  begin  according 
to  diplomatic  rite  until  1756,  the  preceding  year  saw  the 
threatened  outbreak.  This  state  of  affairs  had  also  a 
counterpart  beyond  the  sea  in  the  international  compli- 
cations consequent  to  the  artificial  and  incomplete  treaty 
of  Aix-la-Chapelle.  Two  years  before  the  articles  of  that 
document  were  signed  the  sovereigns  of  Austria  and 
Russia  had  concluded  a defensive  alliance,  and  in  secret 
articles  provision  was  made  for  a possible  restoration  of 
Silesia  to  Maria  Theresa.  Four  years  later,  George  II.  ac- 
ceded to  the  treaty  for  the  sake  of  preserving  his  heredi- 
tary principality  of  Hanover,  while  Saxony  was  won  over 
to  the  entire  agreement,  secret  articles  and  all. 

The  adroit  and  brilliant  Kaunitz,  for  many  years  Aus- 


Greenwich 


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37 

XSTRATIKG  THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR. 


R.  O.SERVOSS.N.Y. 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR  39 


trian  ambassador  in  Paris,  now  chancellor  of  the  empire, 
had  meanwhile  accomplished  the  unexpected,  in  recon- 
ciling, through  the  influence  of  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
the  two  great  powers  which  had  so  long  been  deadly 
rivals,  the  houses  of  Bourbon  and  Hapsburg.  The  combi. 
In  1755,  after  Frederick  the  Great  had  been  Fredericl^th^ 
intriguing  with  the  Jacobites  in  the  hope  of  Great- 
securing  Hanover,  the  Newcastle  ministiy  made  a sub- 
sidy treaty  with  Elizabeth  of  Russia,  who  cherished 
resentment  against  Prussia  on  account  of  the  bitter 
witticisms  by  which  Frederick  had  exposed  her  charac- 
ter. But  already  in  the  next  year  there  was  a re-ar- 
rangement, because  of  the  menace  by  the  Austro-French 
league  to  the  very  existence  of  the  new  military  power, 
and  a renewal  of  partial  friendship  between  the  two  great 
Protestant  nations  was  shown  in  a treaty  forbidding  the 
troops  of  any  nation  to  cross  German  territory.  This  of 
course  alienated  Russia  from  England,  and  four  months 
later,  in  May,  1756,  France  and  Austria  completed  their 
defensive  alliance.  Frederick  found  himself,  therefore, 
confronted  by  the  combined  strength  of  Russia,  Sweden, 
Austria  with  the  German  princes,  and  France.  His  only 
ally  was  England. 

Never  in  modern  times  had  England  known  deeper 
humiliation.  Newcastle  was  now  in  power  ; the  spirit 
of  dull,  incapable  rapacity  was  all-pervasive  in  public 
life.  The  officials  under  the  cabinet  shared  the  sloth  and 
feebleness  of  their  superiors,  and  what  ability  was  avail- 
able looked  rather  to  the  immediate  and  apparently  in- 
inevitable, than  to  the  larger  measures  of  real  states- 
manship. When,  therefore,  open  conflict  in  The  New_ 
America  made  procrastination  impossible,  the  castle  minis- 
measures  taken  were  of  a very  clumsy  and 
dubious  character.  In  the  Pelham  cabinet,  which  lasted 
from  1746  to  1754,  Pitt  had  only  a subordinate  position. 


40  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  TIIE  REVOLUTION 


but  his  influence  was  very  great.  The  plan  which  that 
cabinet  had  formed  to  thwart  the  French  in  America  is 
believed  to  have  been  his.  At  all  events,  when  he  finally 
came  into  full  power,  he  promptly  renewed  its  funda- 
mental conception  and  fought  on  its  lines.  It  was  an 
admirable  one,  but  while  the  Newcastle  ministry  did  not 
change  it,  they  nullified  it  through  the  general  incapacity 
of  the  creatures  chosen  to  carry  it  into  operation,  and 
by  the  orders  given  to  them.  Acadia,  or  Nova  Scotia, 
was  to  be  made  entirely  secure,  and  three  expeditions 
were  to  be  organized  to  proceed  against  Fort  Duquesne, 
Niagara,  and  Crown  Point,  respectively. 

In  the  first  months  of  1755  a fleet  was  despatched  from 
Cork  to  Virginia  with  two  regiments  under  command 
General  Brad-  of  Major-General  Braddock,  who  was  to  be 
dock'  commander -in-chief  of  the  English  forces  in 
America.  He  was  a soldier  of  forty  years’  standing,  and 
had  gained  distinction  in  the  career  to  which  he  had 
been  devoted,  but  on  the  other  hand  he  was  conceited 
and  headstrong,  ignorant  of  every  problem  in  frontier 
fighting,  and  wedded  to  the  martinet  forms  and  discip- 
line of  what  was  then  considered  civilized  warfare  on  the 
continent  of  Europe.  His  habits  and  general  view  of 
life  were  diametrically  opposed  to  the  simplicity  and 
straightforwardness  of  the  colonial  leaders,  upon  whose 
co-operation  he  would  be  dependent  for  success.  There 
was  a strong  sentiment  for  wxar  in  England,  but  the  king 
was  absent  in  Hanover  and  the  feeble,  vacillating  minis- 
try, distracted  by  indecision,  feared  to  take  the  step,  but 
gave  instead  piratical  orders  to  Hawke,  the  commander 
of  the  Channel  fleet,  to  destroy  every  French  ship  be- 
tween Capes  Clear  and  Ortegal. 

In  contrast  with  the  commingled  feebleness  and  des- 
peration of  Newcastle  was  the  direct  and  capable  course 
of  France.  By  means  of  diplomacy7  she  succeeded  in 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR  41 


gaining  time  for  extensive  preparation.  A few  months 
after  the  departure  of  Braddock's  army  a fleet  with 
four  thousand  troops  left  Brest  for  America.  French  prep_ 
Boscawen,  with  an  English  squadron,  started  actions, 
at  once  in  pursuit,  overtook  the  French  who  were  mak- 
ing for  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  captured  two  ves- 
sels. The  others,  with  Vaudreuil,  the  new7  governor  ap- 
pointed to  supersede  Duquesne,  and  the  commander  of 
the  forces,  Baron  Dieskau,  came  safely  to  land.  Vaudreuil 
was  a Canadian  by  birth  ; Dieskau  wras  a German  wrho 
had  been  aide-de-camp  to  Marshal  Saxe,  and  had  gained 
a high  reputation  in  the  Netherlands.  Meantime  the 
wretched  policy  indicated  by  the  orders  to  the  Channel 
fleet  wras  further  carried  out  by  sending  privateers  to 
sea  under  letters  of  marque,  and  before  the  end  of  the 
year,  war  not  yet  having  been  declared,  about  three 
hundred  French  merchantmen  and  seven  thousand 
French  sailors  w7ere  captured.  France,  by  way  of  osten- 
tatious rebuke,  set  free  one  English  vessel  which  had 
been  illegally  taken,  but  on  receipt  of  the  news  from  the 
Banks  of  Newfoundland  recalled  her  ambassador  from 
London. 

Braddock’s  first  official  act  on  reaching  Virginia  was  to 
convene  a congress  at  Alexandria.  There  were  present 
the  governors  of  Massachusetts,  New  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Maryland,  Virginia,  and  Commodore  Iveppel.  He 
himself  was,  of  course,  the  presiding  officer.  The  deter- 
mination had  long  since  been  formed  in  official  circles 
that  a general  fund  for  the  immediate  neces-  ^ 

° # Demand  for 

sities  of  the  impending  war  should  be  raised  colonial  tasa- 
in  the  colonies.  The  royal  governors  had 
found  their  assemblies  difficult  to  convince,  and  there 
was  an  almost  universal  consensus  of  opinion  among  the 
agents  of  the  crowm  that  the  people  would  not  move  of 
their  own  accord,  but  would  acquiesce  if  taxed  by  an  act 


42  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


of  Parliament.  Braddock,  in  explaining  his  instructions, 
angrily  expressed  Iris  disappointment  that  the  money 
had  not  been  raised.  The  governors  retorted  by  explain- 
ing the  colonial  reluctance  and  renewing  their  advice 
that  Parliament  should  enact  a tax.  This  is  the  first  ap- 
pearance in  positive  form  of  the  constitutional  question 
which  was  later  to  occupy  the  entire  energies  of  England 
and  her  colonies. 

But  just  then  there  were  more  urgent  and  immediate 
matters  of  detail,  as  to  the  colonial  troops  and  the  atti- 
tude of  the  Iroquois.  Most  of  them  were  satisfactorily 
arranged.  One  regulation  which  had  been 
reguiara^and  promulgated  before  Braddock’s  arrival  was 
American  mil-  enf0rced,  that  the  general  and  field  officers  of 
the  American  soldiers  should  have  no  rank 
when  those  of  the  regular  army  were  in  the  field.  The 
result  was  to  anger  and  dishearten  at  the  outset  the  very 
flower  of  Braddock’s  command  ; and  to  make  matters 
worse,  he  declared  that  the  savages  might  be  formidable 
to  the  raw  American  militia,  but  upon  the  king’s  regulars 
and  disciplined  troops  it  was  impossible  they  should 
make  any  impression.  Both  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia, 
however,  disregarded  his  insulting  attitude  and  promptly 
furnished  the  necessary  supplies  ; numbers  of  the  “ raw 
militia  ” from  those  colonies  and  from  New  York,  two 
thousand  in  all,  joined  the  expedition,  and  "Washington 
accepted  a position  as  one  of  the  aides-de-camp. 

The  march  through  the  settlements  to  Will’s  Creek, 
which  was  then  first  named  Fort  Cumberland  in  hon- 
Brn <Mock’s  or  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  Braddock’s 
advance,  patron,  was  itself  long  and  weary.  After 
twenty-seven  days  it  was  reached  in  May  ; the  militia,  who 
had  already  assembled  there,  were  put  under  rigorous 
discipline,  and  some  time  was  spent  in  drills  and  other 
preparations  before  the  hundred  and  thirty  miles  of 


OUTBREAK  OF  TIIE  FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR  43 


wilderness  from  that  point  to  Fort  Duquesne  were  at- 
tacked. The  whole  of  Jane  and  eight  days  of  July  were 
consumed  in  the  desperate  march.  The  very  road  had 
to  be  built ; trees  were  felled,  such  bridges  as  were  ab- 
solutely necessary  were  constructed  over  morasses,  and 
in  general,  the  route  was  over  the  hills,  in  disregard  of 
the  natural  course  by  the  streams.  At  last  the  banks  of 
the  Monongahela  were  reached  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Yougliiogheny.  The  line,  extended  sometimes  to  four 
miles  but  marching  as  if  on  a turnpike,  forded  the  river 
at  the  mouth  of  Turtle  Creek  to  the  left  bank  on  the 
ninth  of  July,  and  a few  miles  further  down  recrossed  to 
a spot  which  still  retains  the  ill-omened  name  of  Brad- 
dock’s  Fields,  but  defies  the  omen  with  thronged  and 
prosperous  workshops,  huge  furnaces,  and  all  the 
clangor  of  a throbbing  industrial  life.  All  the  severity 
of  rigorous  discipline  had  been  enforced,  even  in  a forest 
path  but  twelve  feet  wide,  between  the  river  bank  on  one 
side,  and  ground  which  rose  first  gradually  and  then 
abruptly  to  a high  ridge,  on  the  other.  There  were 
guides,  flanking  parties,  all  the  regular  divisions  of  a 
marching  army,  but  no  scouts.  By  the  line  of  the  river 
they  were  within  ten  miles  of  their  goal. 

But  they  had  long  been  watched  by  the  keen  eyes  of 
French  and  Indian  scouts.  Within  the  walls  of  the  fort 
there  was  great  dismay  ; reinforcements  had 

^ **  The  French 

been  sent,  but  the  troops  were  only  some  aid  in dian 

hundreds  in  all.  There  were  gathered,  how-  ambu-catle- 
ever,  at  its  gate  a considerable  number  of  Indians  from 
the  Oiibwas,  Ottawas,  Delawares,  and  other  Algonquin 
tribes.  Nevertheless  Contrecoeur,  the  commandant, 
thought  only  of  retreat ; the  enemy  were  upon  him  with 
a well-equipped  and  disciplined  force  of  over  fifteen  hun- 
dred near  at  hand,  and  the  main  army  close  behind. 
But  Beaujeu,  one  of  his  captains,  was  a daring  spirit, 


44  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


and  an  offer  made  by  him  to  advance  and  form  an  am- 
buscade in  two  well-known  ravines  athwart  the  English 
line  of  march  was  accepted.  Three  times  the  bold 
French  adventurer  laid  his  reckless  scheme  before  the 
stolid  savages,  and  at  last  they  consented. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  July  9th,  1755,  two  hundred 
and  thirty  French  and  Canadians,  in  the  garb  of  back- 
woodsmen, and  six  hundred  and  thirtv-seven 

The  battle.  . • 

red  men  m all  the  tawdry  horror  of  paint, 

grease,  and  feathers,  left  Fort  Duquesne  under  command 
of  Beaujeu,  Dumas,  and  Ligneris.  The  apparently  un- 
equal forces  met  at  a moment  unexpected  to  both.  But 
the  French  and  Indians  were  fresh,  alert,  and  excited  to 
a pitch  of  frenzy.  Attacking  their  enemy  with  spirit,  they 
availed  themselves  of  all  the  arts  of  forest  warfare,  pour- 
ing in  on  front  and  flank  a deadly  fire  from  behind  the 
trees,  and  using  the  hill-crests  or  any  natural  obstacle  as 
shelter.  The  savages  made  the  air  ring  with  yells  and 
war-whoops.  The  English  sought  to  form  in  due  old- 
world  order ; they  poured  their  fusilade  and  artillery  fire 
in  all  directions,  but  their  foe  was  scarcely  visible,  while 
they  themselves,  in  scarlet  uniform  and  compact  ranks 
afforded  a too  prominent  target.  The  regulars  had  been 
disheartened  by  unaccustomed  hardships,  the  militia 
were  soured  by  the  rigors  of  an  unaccusto  medklisciplin  e, 
which  theylmew  unfitted~dliem7Tor  their  task.  But  the 
militia  force  stubbornly  contested  their  ground  for  two 
hours  under  a galling  fire,  forbidden  to  answer  the 
enemy  by  his  own  tactics,  exposed  to  the  fury  of  a July 
sun,  in  the  face  of  an  unseen  foe.  Their  officers  dis- 
played prodigies  of  courage,  five  horses  were  shot  under 
the  general  before  he  succumbed  to  his  wounds.  Wash- 
ington, likewise,  had  four  bullet  holes  through  his  coat 
and  lost  two  chargers  in  the  desperate  struggle.  His 
two  fellow-aides  were  early  disabled,  and  he  was  the 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR  45 


only  active  one  during  the  whole  engagement.  Of  the 
English  and  colonial  forces  twenty-six  officers  were  killed, 
thirty-seven  wounded,  and  seven  hundred  and  fourteen 
privates  were  slain  or  wounded.  The  regulars  fired 

while  ammunition  lasted  ; the  militia  stood until  the 

last  ; of  one  Virginia  command  comprising  three  compa- 
nies, it  is  related  that  not  thirty  men  survived.  On  the 
■victorious  side  three  officers  and  thirty  men  were  killed 
and  about  the  same  number  wounded. 

The  retreat  was  a mere  rout.  There  was  no  pursuit, 
for  the  savages  stopped  to  plunder  the  fallen,  and  the 
French  returned  to  their  fort.  Braddock  died 

Defeat  of  the 

the  second  day  of  his  wounds,  and  was  buried  expedition, 
by  the  wayside.  Dunbar,  who  had  been  in  command  of 
the  rear,  abandoned  Fort  Cumberland,  destroyed  all  his 
stores  and  ammunition,  and  joined  the  columns  hurrying 
eastward.  Thus  ended  the  first  effort  to  overturn  French 
influence  in  the  Ohio  Valley.  The  affairjjrQclnced  dismay 
in  JEnglandand  roused  Jthe  Inuddlecoloiiies  from  their 
lethargy.  The~Virginia  burgesses  gave  forty  thousand 
pounds,  and  Pennsylvania  voted  fifty  thousand,  refusing 
to  exempt  the  property  of  the  proprietaries  from  taxation. 
The  others  made  ready  to  supply  men  and  arms  according 
to  their  ability.  But  the  naauaiiyes^of  the  survivors  fos- 
tered distrust  of  the  English  troops  among  the  colonists, 
andeinbrEtered'tlrem  against  the  Indians  wherever  found. 
The  frontier  settlements  being  left  defenceless,  those  of 
the  savages  who  still  wavered  were  confirmed  in  their 
allegiance  to  France,  for  they  now  felt  that  on  that  side 
was  not  only  friendship  but  safety  for  their  lands.  Nor 
was  their  least  inducement  the  immediate  chance  to 
plunder  the  white  intruders.  The  advancing  line  of 
pioneers,  in  both  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  was  checked 
and  driven  back,  their  rude  homes  being  given  over  to 
pillage  and  desolation. 


46  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


The  French  patent  of  1603  claimed  for  Acadia  the  ter- 
ritory between  the  present  sites  of  Philadelphia  and 
Acadja  Montreal,  granting  liberty  of  worship  to 
Huguenots  within  those  boundaries.  The 
following  year  an  expedition  of  which  Champlain  was  a 
member  founded  Port  Royal  and  St.  Croix,  and  dis- 
covered the  St.  John’s  River.  This  was  the  first  attempt 
at  settlement,  and  though  occupation  was  precarious 
and  the  colonists  were  subjected  to  serious  hardship,  it 
continued  until  1614,  when  the  Virginians,  basing  their 
claims  on  a discovery  by  the  Cabots  iu  1497,  drove  out 
the  French.  Sir  William  Alexander  obtained  a patent 
in  1621  for  the  peninsula  now  known  as  Nova  Scotia, 
but  his  attempts  at  permanent  occupation,  in  1623, 
were  rendered  unavailing  by  the  French.  Cromwell  sent 
out  a powerful  expedition  in  1654,  but  by  the  treaty  of 
Breda  the  territory  was  ceded  to  France.  Henceforth 
it  was  known  as  Acadia  or  Nova  Scotia,  although  its 
boundaries  were  utterly  uncertain  and  no  attempt  was 
made  to  settle  them  until  1750  ; the  other  claims  of  the 
French  in  North  America  were  designated  New  France. 
The  English  colonists  never  regarded  the  treaty  obliga- 
tions of  their  government,  and  so  harassed  the  French 
settlers  that,  in  1713,  England  regained  possession  un- 
der the  treaty  of  Utrecht. 

For  thirty  years  the  English  rule  was  nominal.  The 
industry,  thrift,  and  piety  of  the  people  created  an  unex- 
ampled prosperity  in  an  ideal  pastoral  life, 
of  the  French  In  1749,  evidence  began  to  accumulate  that 
France  would  once  again  enforce  her  preten- 
sions. Accordingly,  four  thousand  settlers  were  sent  out 
and  the  city  of  Halifax  was  founded.  But  the  French 
inhabitants  were  still  a majority,  and  although  ostensibly 
neutral  they  now  courted  the  Indian  alliances,  drew 
closer  to  their  religious  rulers  than  ever,  and  rendered  the 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR  47 

English  administrative  measures  well-nigh  futile.  The 
English  were  stern,  and  in  their  helplessness  the  Aca- 
dians  became  hopelessly  intractable.  Measures  of  an  un- 
wonted severity  seemed  to  them  tyranny  ; the  English 
assumed  the  guardianship  of  their  titles  and  laid  heavy 
taxes,  while  burdensome  contributions  of  labor  and  of 
produce  were  enforced  under  threats  of  martial  law. 
That  they  might  neither  fly  nor  fight,  they  were  stripped 
of  both  boats  and  fire-arms.  Throughout  the  colonies 
the  feeling  prevailed  that  a life  struggle  with  popery  and 
tyranny,  as  embodied  in  French  supremacy,  had  begun, 
and  passions  were  inflamed  to  a high  pitch.  We  depre- 
cate the  bigoti-y  and  rutblessness  of  the  time,  but  the 
principle  of  resistance  to  encroachment  was  the  same 
from  1755  down  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
The  wrong  was  in  the  savage  application  of  it.  Step  by 
step  the  English  officials  interpreted  the  laws  of  their 
mother  land  against  Roman  Catholics  with  more  unjus- 
tifiable stringency,  until  they  came  to  regard  the  meek 
and  unresisting  people  as  rebels  and  an  obstacle  to 
peace  and  progress.  At  last  the  Acadians  one  day  re- 
fused the  oath  of  entire  allegiance  to  the  crown,  and 
then  having  repented  their  determination  the  next,  were 
refused  permission  to  take  it.  Finally  the  fatal  decision 
was  reached  that  their  splendid  possessions  must  be  for- 
feited, and  they  themselves  with  their  families  exiled  into 
other  parts  of  the  continent. 

Two  French  fortresses  had  been  erected  on  the  isth- 
mus after  the  surrender  of  the  peninsula  to  England, 
one  small  and  scarcely  more  than  an  outpost, 

Fort  Gaspereaux,  so  named  from  the  little  the' f'rTn c°u 
river  at  the  mouth  of  which  it  stood  ; the  f0rt5' 
other,  Fort  Beau  Sejour,  well  constructed,  well  equipped, 
and  occupying  a position  of  strategic  importance  at  the 
narrowest  part  of  the  isthmus,  north  of  the  River  Messa- 


48  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


gouche.  From  a levy  of  over  seven  thousand  Massachu- 
setts troops,  some  fifteen  hundred  had  been  despatched 
early  in  the  year  under  Winslow  against  these  strong- 
holds. The  men,  like  others  of  the  colonial  forces, 
were  animated  by  both  religious  and  political  bitterness, 
and  the  skill  of  their  leaders  was  in  marked  contrast  to 
the  incapacity  of  Vergor,  the  French  commander.  They 
were  supported  also  by  three  hundred  regulars  and  a 
company  of  artillery.  Both  places  were  taken  in  June 
almost  without  an  effort.  Any  resistance  by  the  peasantry 
would  therefore  have  been  futile  and  desperate.  Their 
doom  had  gone  forth  and  the  Americans  were  unfortu- 
nately foremost  in  its  execution,  although  the  real  stigma 
of  the  measures  rests  on  the  Lords  of  Trade  and  the 
supple  judiciary  of  the  province,  willing  tools  in  inter- 
preting the  constitution  according  to  the  rapacious  de- 
sires of  the  authorities. 

In  September  the  Acadian  men  were  taken  prisoners 
by  an  artifice  which  could  only  have  imposed  on  simple 
Dispersion  of  miuds,  and  the  forced  emigration  began.  The 
the  natives,  embarkation  was  not  completed  until  Decem- 
ber, the  season  was  most  inclement,  and  cruelty  went 
hand  in  hand  with  incapacity  to  torture  the  paralyzed 
and  helpless  victims.  Wherever  they  were  finally  de- 
posited, in  Georgia,  Pennsylvania,  or  Canada,  they  were 
left  to  their  own  misdirected  and  feeble  efforts  for  suste- 
nance. The  strange  absence  of  the  paternal  hand  to 
which  they  had  been  accustomed,  in  both  politics  and 
religion,  induced  a numbing  home-sickness,  under  the 
influence  of  which  many  blindly  sought  to  regain  their 
former  seats.  But  all  effort  was  vain,  fate  seemed  to 
overpower  them  in  every  movement,  for  they  were  for- 
lorn and  the  government  relentless.  So  their  dispersion 
was  accomplished.  Seven  thousand  in  all  were  carried 
away.  Their  houses  and  barns  were  burnt,  their  cattle 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR  49 

sold,  their  land  became  not  only  a solitude  but  a desert : 
for  the  ocean  beat  down  the  neglected  dikes  and  resumed 
for  many  long  years  its  ancient  sway  over  the  low-tying 
meadows,  wliick  bad  been  the  pride  of  the  country, 
“This  poor,  innocent  people,”  said  Burke,  “whom  our 
utter  inability  to  govern  or  to  reconcile,  gave  us  no  right 
to  extirpate.” 

The  French  fortress  at  Niagara  was  weak  and  half- 

dismantled,  but  as  the  centre  of  a fui’  trade  which  carried 

French  men,  French  influence,  and  French  speech  into 

the  unmeasured  boundaries  of  the  far  West,  „ 

, Fort  Niagara. 

it  was  the  support  ot  the  French  claim  to 
supremacy  in  North  America.  William  Shirley  assumed 
the  leadership  of  an  expedition  to  capture  this  important 
place,  and  expected  there  to  receive  with  his  two  thousand 
troops  the  army  of  Braddoek  after  its  hoped-for  victory 
at  Fort  Duquesne.  But  fetters  of  indolence  and  delay 
hampered  the  movement  from  the  outset ; the  defeat  on 
the  Monongahela  disheartened  all ; obstacle  succeeded 
obstacle  until  in  the  late  season  the  entire  project  was 
abandoned  for  the  poor  substitute  of  an  English  strong- 
hold at  Oswego,  which  was  built  and  garrisoned. 

But  for  one  success  the  gloom  of  the  year  1755  would 
have  been  without  any  relief.  The  highway  into  New 
France  was  commanded  by  the  fortification  at  Crown 
Point,  and  both  French  and  English  looked  j0i!nson'S 
on  the  undertaking  commanded  by  William  successes. 
Johnson  as  the  most  arduous  enterprise  of  the  whole  cam- 
paign. Vaudreuil  gave  Dieskau  every  available  man, 
seven  hundred  regulars,  sixteen  hundred  Canadians,  and 
seven  hundred  Indians  for  a garrison.  The  raw  levies  of 
colonists  and  Indians  under  Johnson  were  about  three 
thousand  four  hundred,  outnumbering  slightly  the  French 
forces,  though  we  are  ignorant  of  the  proportion  of  sav- 
ages to  white  men.  No  great  capacity  was  shown  on 
4 


50  THE  FRENCH  AVAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


either  side,  though  many  choice  men  from  New  England 
were  under  the  English  flag,  and  Dieskau  showed  both 
craft  and  courage.  The  whole  summer  had  been  con- 
sumed in  trifling  negotiations  with  Indians  and  a purpose- 
less bustle  among  the  colonials.  It  was  September  8th 
before  their  advance  produced  a collision.  The  decisive 
combat  took  place  on  the  shores  of  the  Lake  of  the 
Holy  Sacrament,  the  French  engaging  with  fourteen 
hundred  men,  the  colonials  with  but  a thousand.  But  in 
the  crisis  the  white  troops  under  Lyman,  of  Connecticut, 
fresh  from  their  farms,  undrilled  and  poorly  equipped, 
fought  with  a hitherto  unseen  coolness  and  effective- 
ness. The  loss  was  numerically  equal  on  both  sides,  but 
the  French  regulars  were  annihilated,  and  Dieskau  was 
wounded  and  captured. 

The  victory  was  complete  and  ended  the  possibility  of 
French  aggression  for  the  year,  but  it  resulted  in  noth- 
ing substantive,  for  Johnson  feared  or  said  he  feared  “ a 
more  formidable  attack.”  He  built,  however,  a new  and 
Fort  william  useless  fort  which  he  named  William  Henry, 
Heury.  for  one  Gf  king’s  grandsons.  Fort  Ly- 
man was  renamed  Fort  Edward,  for  another,  and  the  Lac 
St.  Sacrement  has  ever  since  been  called,  as  he  wished, 
Lake  George,  for  the  king.  The  real  failure  of  the  great 
plans  which  had  been  formed  was  to  be  concealed,  if  pos- 
sible. The  attention  of  the  English  public  was  there- 
fore concentrated  on  the  affair  by  a grant  of  five  thou- 
sand pounds  to  Johnson  with  the  title  of  a baronet,  and 
for  the  short  hour  he  was  the  hero  of  the  nation  in  both 
America  and  England. 

Nevertheless,  no  year  in  the  history  of  our  continent 
was  more  pregnant  with  ultimate  good  than  the  ill-starred 
year  1755.  The  home  government  had  been  profoundly 
affected  by  the  news  of  one  disaster  after  another,  and 
recognized  the  necessity  of  raising  by  some  general  plan 


OUTBREAK  OF  THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WAR  51 


a permanent  fund  to  carry  on  the  war  which  was  be- 
fore them.  During  the  winter  the  project  broached  at 
the  Braddock  conference  was  renewed,  and  P]ans  for  tax- 
schemes  were  put  forward  by  the  governors  mg  Amcrica- 
of  Massachusetts  and  Virginia.  The  former,  Shirley,  act- 
ually suggested  all  the  forms  which  became  subsequently 
so  hateful  to  the  colonists,  stamp-duty,  excise,  land  and 
poll  tax.  He  foretold  the  growth  of  a feeling  for  union 
among  the  colonies,  and  suggested  parliamentary  con- 
trol. This  was  the  origin  of  the  conviction  prevalent 
among  so  many  influential  Englishmen,  that  Parliament 
must  regulate  American  revenue.  Bat  neither  the  time 
nor  the  ministry  was  suited  to  so  radical  a measure,  al- 
though the  removal  of  Shirley  himself  as  commander-in- 
chief and  the  appointment  in  his  place  of  a typical  aristo- 
crat holding  extreme  views  of  colonial  subordination  was 
a step  in  the  direction  of  parliamentary  supremacy.  The 
next  chief  of  the  now  well-established  military  power  was 
the  Earl  of  Loudon,  with  General  Abercrombie  as  second 
in  command.  Their  powers  were  independent  of  the 
colonial  governors,  and  by  orders  in  council  authority 
was  given  to  quarter  soldiers  without  consent  of  the 
colonial  assemblies.  Other  encroachments  there  'were 
also,  which  though  petty,  showed  the  intention  of  the 
cabinet  in  treating  American  questions.  The  policy  thus 
initiated  and  persistently  followed  for  twenty  years  was 
the  cause  of  the  American  Devolution. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

SUCCESSES  OF  THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIANS— 1756-1758 


English  Inactivity — Montcalm  and  the  French  Leaders— Capture  of 
Oswego  by  the  French — Armstrong  ejects  the  Indians  from 
Kittanning — Winter  Warfare — Plan  against  Louisburg  Aban- 
doned— Outrages  of  Montcalm’s  Indians— The  Massacre  at 
Fort  William  Henry — Results  of  Intrigue  in  Canada — Partisan 
Activity — Loudon  Recalled — Pitt  in  Power — His  Influence 
and  Plans — Amherst,  Howe,  and  Wolfe. 

Tee  formal  declaration  of  war  on  May  18th,  1756,  was 
made  by  Great  Britain,  but  the  course  of  her  failures  was 
not  even  for  a moment  interrupted.  It  is  true  that  in 
June  a vessel  with  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  was 
English  inac-  despatched  to  reimburse  the  colonists  for  the 
tivity.  extraordinary  contributions  they  had  made  to 
carry  on  hostilities,  and  thus  renew  their  energies  for  the 
future.  But  in  the  same  month  Abercrombie  arrived  and 
at  once  billeted  his  troops  on  the  people  of  Albany.  It 
is  true  that  Oswego  was  provisioned,  equipped,  and  gar- 
risoned with  admirable  skill  and  judgment  by  Bradstreet 
under  the  advice  of  Shirley.  But  Loudon  did  not  arrive 
until  late  in  July.  The  majority  of  the  Iroquois,  aware 
of  the  activity  and  energy  shown  on  all  sides  by  the 
French,  sought  and  obtained  neutrality  from  Vaudreuil ; 
and  the  English,  with  five  thousand  men  in  Oswego  and 
ten  thousand  at  Albany,  did  nothing. 

Such  inactivity  appears  even  more  inexplicable  in  con- 
trast with  the  French  restlessness.  The  old  regime  in 
France,  led  by  Pompadour,  was  given  over  to  lewdness, 


SUCCESSES  OF  THE  FRENCH  ANT)  INDIANS  53 


philandering,  and  plots.  Conceit  and  folly  were  at  the 
helm  even  in  Russia  and  Austria.  The  grandees  of 
the  French  court  would  therefore  be  employed 

ci  Montcalm 

in  the  continental  convulsions  ot  the  beven  and  the  French 
Years’  War.  So  it  happened  that  a man  of  leadert- 
the  old  sound  stock,  then  as  ever  uncorrupted  by  the  in- 
trigues of  an  over-centralized  government,  was  chosen  to 
lead  in  America,  where  the  war  had  opened  and  the 
greatest  issue  was  to  be  decided.  Montcalm,  a man  of 
noble  family,  small  in  stature,  and  mercurial  in  tempera- 
ment, was  strong  and  healthy  in  body,  of  an  active,  intel- 
ligent, capable  mind,  and  had  served  with  distinction  in 
the  wars  of  the  eighteenth  century  from  1741  onward. 
His  second  in  command,  He  Levis,  and  his  adjutant  Bou- 
gainville, were  men  of  the  same  stamp.  The  expedition 
reached  Quebec  in  May.  Of  three  important  posts, 
Carillon  or  Ticonderoga,  Niagara,  and  Frontenac,  the 
first  had  been  planned  and  built,  the  others  had  been 
carefully  strengthened  by  the  best  French  engineering 
skill,  and  in  March  Fort  Bull,  an  insignificant  English 
post  on  the  road  from  Albany  to  Oswego,  had  been  cap- 
tured with  great  and  unwarranted  acclamation.  The 
spirits  of  both  Canadians  and  French  were  raised  to  the 
highest  point  when  a garrison  was  finally  thrown  into 
the  new  post  of  Ticonderoga,  which  was  further  advanced 
toward  the  English  colonies  than  even  Crown  Point. 

Quick  to  perceive  the  sluggishness  of  Loudon,  Mont- 
calm devised  an  attack  on  Oswego  and  its  outpost,  Fort 
Ontario.  Such  was  the  swiftness  of  his  movements  that 
by  August  5th  he  had  collected  at  Frontenac  some  three 
thousand  troops,  with  which,  on  the  12th,  he  of 

began  a regular  siege.  It  lasted  but  eighteen  Oswego  by  the 
hours  before  the  outworks  fell,  and  on  the  Fiench' 
fourteenth  the  whole  garrison  of  Oswego  surrendered. 
The  French  were  in  ecstasy,  and  to  win  the  affections  of 


54  THE  FRENCH  AVAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


the  suspicious  Indians  razed  the  entire  structure,  leaving 
only  two  boastful  trophies  on  its  site.  Loudon,  fear- 
ing an  attack,  withdrew  to  New  York,  after  putting  what 
obstacles  he  could  between  himself  and  his  enemies  by 
felhng  trees  across  the  trails.  But  he  strove  to  quarter 
his  officers  for  the  winter  on  the  people  of  both  New 
York  and  Philadelphia.  The  people  pleaded  their  rights 
as  Englishmen,  the  officer  replied  with  threats  of  force, 
and  a collision  was  only  prevented  by  compromise  in 
Philadelphia  and  virtual  surrender  in  New  York.  The 
irritation  was  of  course  intense.  Montcalm  remained 
inactive  because  his  inferior  strength,  five  thousand  four 
hundred  to  Loudon’s  ten  thousand,  compelled  him  to 
keep  the  safe  position  of  Ticonderoga. 

So  far  there  was  but  a single  item  on  the  credit  side 
of  the  English  account  for  the  year  1756,  the  construction 
of  Fort  Loudon  on  the  Tennessee,  to  guard  Georgia  and 
Carolina  against  the  French  posts  which  were  springing 
Up  to  the  east  of  the  Mississippi.  Otherwise  all  was  loss 
and  disgrace.  The  autumn  was  brightened  by  one  suc- 
cess, that  against  the  Delawares  of  Kittan- 
ejetts™te°iii?  ning,  who,  from  their  lair  within  fifty  miles 
KtttaniJng0  m Fort  Duquesne,  were  ravaging  the  frontier 
of  Pennsylvania.  Again  it  was  the  Provin- 
cials who  gained  the  scanty  laurels.  Captain  John  Arm- 
strong, a Scotch-Irish  Covenanter  of  Cumberland,  set 
out  across  the  wilderness  of  the  Alleghenies  with  a par- 
ty of  men  as  fearless  and  determined  as  himself.  With 
consummate  skill  they  threaded  the  trackless  woods, 
came  on  the  Indians  unawares,  and  virtually  extermi- 
nated the  settlement,  destroying  their  carefully  collect- 
ed ammunition,  and  rescuing  eleven  whites  who  were 
held  in  captivity. 

When  the  seat  of  war  is  a virgin  wilderness,  densely 
wooded,  and  for  the  most  pari  covered  with  matted 


SUCCESSES  OF  THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIANS  55 


undergrowth  as  well,  the  passage  of  troops  and  store- 
trains  is  difficult  enough  even  in  the  summer  months. 
The  cessation  of  hostilities  in  winter  was  not,  winter  war- 
therefore,  as  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  a fare- 
mere  conventionality,  but  a necessity  ; and  in  our  north 
countiy  the  rigors  of  winter  render  even  the  waterways 
impassable.  Fierce  blasts,  deep  snows,  and  severe  cold 
heighten  the  stern  aspect  of  nature.  But  there  were 
classes  of  men  on  both  sides  who  dared  to  challenge  her, 
forbidding  as  she  was.  During  the  autumn  months  sav- 
ages from  Ticonderoga  were  ubiquitous,  and  from  Fort 
William  Henry  scouts  and  rangers  threaded  their  ways 
where  stray  enemies  might  be  captured,  and  occasionally 
a smart  blow  was  struck  by  partisans  from  New  England, 
hardened  by  exposure  and  ready  for  any  venture.  The 
notorious  Bogers  and  his  band  were  typical  adventurers, 
making  forays  into  the  enemy’s  country,  cutting  off  sup- 
plies, burning  homesteads,  destroying  cattle,  taking  pris- 
oners, and  even  daring  to  approach  the  hostile  works 
near  enough  to  sketch  rude  plans.  Familiar  with  the 
use  of  skates  and  snowshoes,  the  heart  of  winter  had  no 
terrors  for  them,  and  in  January  they  advanced  to  the 
very  threshold  of  the  new  French  fort,  fought  a short, 
sharp  engagement  which  dismayed  their  foes,  and  re- 
turned with  many  wounded,  but  successfully,  to  the  head 
of  Lake  George.  In  March  a French  party  of  the  same 
character,  coureurs  de  bois,  Indians  and  some  regulars, 
equipped  at  a cost  of  a million  francs,  sixteen  hundred 
men  in  all,  endeavored  to  strike  a retaliatory  blow. 
Over  snow  and  ice  they  reached  the  English  fort.  At- 
tempted surprises,  alarms,  and  strategic  marchings  were 
plenty,  but  they  failed  to  dismay  the  little  garrison  of 
some  three  hundred  and  forty-six  effective  men.  The 
ice-bound  boats  in  the  lake,  a sloop-of-war  on  the  stocks, 
the  out -houses  and  barns  around  the  fortress  were 


56  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


burned,  but  a bold  sortie  dismayed  the  attacking  force, 
and  the  costly  expedition  retreated  without  further  suc- 
cess. 

Throughout  all  these  long  months  the  European  com- 
batants, in  their  respective  quarters  at  Montreal  and  New 
York,  were  eagerly  emulating  the  gayety,  hospitality,  and 
luxury  which  reigned  at  such  seasons  in  Paris  and  Lon- 
don. Montcalm  wasted  his  energies  in  squabbles  with 
the  jealous  and  boastful  Vaudreuil.  Loudon  languidly 

dreamed  of  an  expedition  against  Louisburg, 
Plan  against  1 ? . . f 

Louisburg  and  his  languor  was  seen  m his  inadequate 

and  tardy  preparations.  It  was  said  at  the 
time  that,  like  St.  George  on  a tavern  sign,  he  was  always 
on  horseback  but  never  advancing.  He  and  his  troops 
were,  however,  finally  embarked  and  reached  Halifax  in 
June.  A squadron  from  England  with  additional  forces 
had  sailed  in  May,  but  arrived  at  the  rendezvous  only  in 
July.  It  was  then  found  that  the  French  had  learned 
the  whole  matter  through  spies,  and  that  no  less  than 
twenty-two  ships  of  the  line  were  united  in  Louisburg 
harbor  waiting  the  attack.  The  ten  thousand  troops, 
the  sixteen  ships  and  frigates,  were  thought  to  be  of  no 
avail  against  such  a force.  Loudon  and  his  forces  re- 
turned to  New  York,  the  squadron  from  England  was 
disabled  by  a September  storm,  and  the  disaster  of 
the  season  was  crowned  by  a horror  perpetrated  on  the 
abandoned  garrison  at  Fort  William  Henry,  which  was 
made  possible  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  English  forces 
from  the  seat  of  war. 

The  disputes  of  Montcalm  and  Vaudreuil  about  the 
respective  merits  of  the  Canadian  militia  and  the  French 
regulars,  who  loved  each  other  as  little  as  did  the  English 
colonials  and  their  commanders  from  beyond  the  ocean, 
did  not  prevent  active  and  effective  co-operation,  bitter 
and  imprudent  as  they  were  on  both  sides.  As  soon  as 


SUCCESSES  OF  THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIANS  57 


Loudon’s  movements  were  certain,  Montcalm  went  to 
“ sing  tlie  war  song  ” and  hold  the  war  feast  with  sur- 
rounding Indians.  By  the  end  of  July  a 0utrages  of 

strong  and  well-provisioned  force  was  gath-  Montcalm’s  in- 
0 # . dians. 

ered  at  Ticonderoga,  Indians,  Canadians,  and 

French  troops,  eight  thousand  in  all,  a quarter  at  least 
being  savages  gathered  from  near  and  far,  as  far  even  as 
the  banks  of  the  Des  Moines  Biver,  in  Iowa.  Almost  im- 
mediately the  Bed  Men  began  warfare  in  their  own  way, 
nor  could  the  polite  and  fastidious  Frenchmen  restrain 
them.  Scouting  parties  captured  prisoners,  and  form- 
ing lines  with  but  a narrow'  interval  between  them,  made 
their  unhappy  victims  run  in  the  midst  to  be  beaten  with 
clubs  even  to  death.  At  other  times,  in  open  orgies  they 
practised  the  foulest  cannibalism,  roasting,  boiling,  and 
eating  human  flesh  without  a thought  of  concealment,  at 
the  very  tent-door,  in  one  instance,  of  a French  mission- 
ary. And  their  numerous  petty  successes  made  them 
every  day  more  insolent  and  unmanageable.  Montcalm 
used  skill  and  diligence  to  bridle  their  passions  both  for 
blood  and  for  indulgence  in  intoxicating  drink.  His  suc- 
cess was  partial,  and  on  August  1st  the  picturesque  and 
unruly  expedition  set  out  from  Ticonderoga. 

Four  days  later,  after  a preliminary  skirmish  and  a 

summons  to  surrender,  the  investment  of  Fort  William 

Henry  was  begun.  Munro,  the  commander, 

J ° _ The  massa- 

had  five  hundred  men  within  the  bastions  and  ere  at  Fort 
. ....  , . . William  Hen- 

se  venteen  hundred  m an  entrenched  camp  near  ry. 

by.  He  wrote  for  reinforcements  to  Webb  who  was  four- 
teen miles  away  at  Fort  Edward  with  twenty-six  hundred 
men  ; Webb  sent  two  hundred  regulars,  refused  further 
assistance,  and  in  dreary  terror  despatched  messengers  in 
turn  to  distant  New  York  and  New  England  for  help, 
fearing  an  attack  on  his  flank.  For  five  days  the  intre- 
pid garrison  held  out,  three  hundred  were  killed,  many 


5S  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

were  disabled  by  wounds  and  more  by  an  epidemic  of 
small-pox  ; the  cannon  burst  and  were  useless.  On  the 
ninth,  therefore,  Munro  made  honorable  terms  and  capitu- 
lated, marching  out  on  the  following  day  with  the  honors 
of  war.  The  gallant  Montcalm  had  extorted  from  his 
Indians  a promise  to  keep  the  conditions  of  surrender 
faithfully.  But  the  last  man  of  the  garrison  had  not 
left  the  fort  before  the  treacherous  crew  clambered  with 
yells  and  hideous  whoops  through  the  embrasures  into 
the  interior.  The  sick  were  murdered  and  their  corpses 
mutilated.  Plunder  there  was  none,  and  the  savages 
turned  at  once  to  the  camp  from  which  on  the  morrow 
the  English  were  to  march  under  escort  to  Fort  Edward. 
The  French  guards  held  the  greedy  creatures  in  check 
for  a time,  and  Montcalm  moved  among  them  cajoling, 
threatening,  and  praying.  They  seemed  to  yield  to  his 
entreaties,  but  in  the  early  dawn  of  the  next  day  they 
could  no  longer  be  restrained.  The  English  were 
paralyzed  by  the  sudden  and  awful  attack,  and  there 
ensued,  under  the  very  eyes  of  Montcalm  and  his  officers, 
the  atrocious  massacre  which  more  than  any  other  event 
clouded  his  reputation,  inspired  the  English  with  rage 
and  horror,  and  partly  fixed  on  the  conflict  the  name 
of  French  and  Indian  war.  The  Indians  massacred 
in  cold  blood  upwards  of  seventy,  including  the  sick  in 
the  hospital,  and  carried  away  two  hundred  prisoners 
whom  the  French  could  not  then  rescue,  although  they 
afterwards  redeemed  most  of  them.  The  worthless 
wooden  works  of  the  fort  were  razed,  the  bodies  of  the 
dead  piled  on  them,  and  the  whole  burnt  to  ashes. 

The  autumn  and  winter  were  almost  a repetition  of 
the  preceding  ones.  Montcalm  failed  to  follow  up  his 
victory  ; colonial  militia  rushed  in  from  all  sides  to  Fort 
Edward,  but  owing  to  lack  of  equipment  and  employ- 
ment, turned  again  to  their  homes.  In  November,  a 


SUCCESSES  OE  THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIANS  59 


helpless  German  settlement  on  the  Mohawk  was  burned 
and  sacked  by  the  French  and  Indians.  The  wretched 
intrigues  and  gayeties  of  New  York  and  Mon- 

• , . xC6  sines  or 

treal  began  again  with  the  winter.  The  un-  intrigue  in 

happy  Canadians  had  not  been  able  either  to 
sow  or  reap  according  to  their  necessities,  the  French 
troops  were  pinched  in  their  supplies  by  the  knavery  of 
Bigot  and  other  royal  agents,  and  as  the  English  were 
masters  at  sea,  half  rations  and  actual  famine  filled  reg- 
ulars and  natives  with  dismay.  But  the  crafty  leaders 
found  means  to  feast  the  Indians  who  were  again  practis- 
ing cannibalism  under  their  very  eyes,  and  to  load  their 
uncertain  allies  with  gifts. 

Partisan  activity  about  the  region  of  Lake  Champlain 
j and  Lake  George  was  constant.  At  one  partisan  ac- 
time  Rogers  and  his  men  ventured  into  the  tlvlty- 
very  moat  of  Ticonderoga,  at  another  they  approached 
so  near  as  to  snatch  prisoners  and  cattle  from  under  its 
guns.  In  March,  however,  the  rangers  suffered  a serious 
repulse,  eight  of  their  officers  and  a hundred  of  their 
men  being  killed. 

Loudon  was  as  usual  fertile  in  inventions  and  busy 
with  plans  which  never  left  the  paper  they  London  re_ 
were  sketched  on.  At  last  he  came  to  be  called, 
regarded  as  a mere  trifling  busybody,  and  in  the  spring 
he  was  recalled.  Under  his  leadership  the  depth  of 
degradation  had  been  sounded.  The  French  w'ere  in 
successful  occupation  of  five-sixths  of  the  continent, 
while  England  held  less  than  half  of  the  remaining 
portion.  Louis  XY.  and  his  Indian  allies  controlled  not 
only  the  two  great  waterways  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and 
Mississippi,  but  they  actually  held  every  portage  between 
them  ; by  way  of  Waterford  to  Fort  Duquesne,  by  way 
of  the  Maumee  to  the  Wabash,  and  by  way  of  what  is 
now  Chicago  to  the  Illinois.  The  unsuccessful  general 


60  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

returned  to  England,  sure  that  the  colonies  had  been 
the  root  of  his  failure,  and  that  the  first  necessity  was 
for  Parliament  to  assume  administrative  and  fiscal  con- 
trol. A stamp  act  for  America  would  have  been  one  of 
his  remedies. 

It  seems  impossible  to  explain  the  imbecility  of  the 
Englishmen  then  in  America,  except  by  the  worthless- 
ness of  the  Newcastle  ministry.  The  ruinous  politics 
of  its  premier  led  to  indecision  and  the  ultimate  choice 
. of  second-rate  men  for  leadership.  In  April, 

1757,  Pitt,  having  put  himself  at  the  head  of 
a sentiment  strongly  opposed  to  the  Hanoverian  policy 
of  the  king,  was  deprived  of  officeT  It  was  soon  seen 
that  a cabinet  without  him  was  impossible.  For  eleven 
weeks  all  compromise  with  the  old  aristocratic  regime 
was  firmly  refused,  while  the  Great  Commoner,  as  he 
was  now  called,  received  from  the  towns  and  the  nation 
such  assurances  of  enthusiastic  regard  as  were  never 
given  to  another  public  servant.  At  last,  in  June,  court 
and  aristocracy  yielded  and  the  great  representative  of 
the  people  came  into  power. 

Though  he  had  been  nominally  leader  of  the  Commons, 
and  Secretary  of  State  in  the  last  cabinet,  yet  Newcastle 
was  ever  busy  with  his  old  tactics  of  parliamentary  con- 
trol, and  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  had  charge  of  the 
His  influence  war.  His  generous  plans  for  the  colonies  had 

and  plans,  therefore  been  largely  thwarted,  although  he 
successfully  resisted  every  proposition  for  a stamp  act. 
Now  he  was  the  real  ruler  of  England.  He  stood  for  no 
faction,  neither  for  the  king  nor  for  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
nor  for  the  falling  Whig  oligarchy.  The  nation  had 
been  morally  quickened  by  the  great  Wesleyan  move- 
ment and  the  preaching  of  Whitefielcl.  He  was  first 
known  to  them  by  his  disinterested  refusal  to  accept 
interest  on  the  public  moneys,  or  even  a percentage  on 


SUCCESSES  OF  THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIANS  61 

subsidies  ; tbeir  devotion  was  intensitied  by  bis  zeal  for 
better  representation,  for  the  total  overthrow  of  the 
brazen  venality  which  Newcastle  practised,  and  for  every 
wholesome  reform.  He  had,  and  was  for  four  years  to 
keep  their  undivided  loyalty  in  his  liberal  and  enlight- 
ened policy.  The  results  were  soon  seen.  His  old  plan 
for  the  redemption  of  America  was  not  changed,  for  it 
was  the  best,  but  men  of  a newT  stamp  were  selected  for 
the  various  enterprises.  Louisburg  was  first  to  be  re- 
duced, and  in  the  sequel  Quebec.  The  northern  colonies 
were  to  be  liberated  by  the  destruction  of  Ticonderoga, 
and  the  great  avenue  of  enterprise  toward  the  west  was 
to  be  opened  by  the  capture  of  Fort  Duquesne. 

Amherst,  Wolfe,  Forbes,  and  Howe  were  to  be  the 
leaders.  Not  one  of  them  was  a man  of  medi-  , , 

..  Amherst, 

ocre  power.  Amherst  was  calm,  cold,  pru-  Howe,  and 
dent,  but  most  capable.  Forbes,  the  Head  of 
Iron,  as  his  soldiers  nicknamed  him,  was  a tried  soldier, 
destined  to  give  his  master’s  name  to  the  metropolis  of 
the  metal  which  was  thought  to  be  in  his  own  veins. 
Lord  Howe,  a man  of  the  loftiest  birth,  had  endeared 
himself  to  everyone  by  his  judicious,  manly,  and  unas- 
suming character.  The  greatest  of  them  all  was  Wolfe, 
already  a hero  who  had  won  laurels  and  successive  pro- 
motions on  the  fields  of  Dettingen,  Fontenoy,  and  Lauf- 
feld,  although  he  was  now  only  in  his  thirty-first  year. 


CHAPTER  VL 


SUCCESSES  OF  THE  ENGLISH  AND  AMERICANS— 1758-1759 

England  and  Prussia  as  Allies— Success  of  Frederick  and  Pitt — In- 
fluence of  Prussian  Success  in  America — Fall  of  Louisburg — 
Pitt  Arouses  American  Enthusiasm  — Abercrombie  before  Ti- 
conderoga — Topography — Death  of  Howe — Montcalm’s  Prep- 
arations— Failure  of  the  Attack— Retreat  of  Abercrombie — 
Recapture  of  Oswego  — Effect  of  the  Success  — The  Middle 
Colonies  and  Forbes’s  Expedition — Washington  and  Bouquet 
—Defeat  at  Grant’s  Hill — Illness  of  Forbes — Weakness  of  the 
Garrison  at  Fort  Duquesne — Advance  of  Washington  and  Arm- 
strong— Seizure  of  Fort  Duquesne— Pitt’s  Monument. 

The  Seven  Tears’  War,  in  which  the  intrepid  Frederick 
faced  single-handed  the  secret  coalition  of  the  great 
] d d Catholic  powers,  was  no  less  England’s  affair 
Prussia  as  ai-  than  his  own.  The  King  of  Prussia  had  in- 
herited from  his  Calvinistic  father  a splen- 
did army,  and  the  use  he  had  made  of  it  was  nothing 
short  of  wonderful.  In  1756  he  had  perfect  knowledge 
of  the  negotiations  which  had  united  nearly  all  Europe 
against  him.  In  August,  therefore,  without  a word  of 
warning  he  entered  Saxony,  captured  Dresden,  and 
pushing  on,  defeated  the  Austrians  at  Lobositz.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1757,  England  became  his  ally.  In  May  Frederick 
re-opened  his  victorious  career  at  Prague,  but  in  June  the 
Austrians  under  Daun  overwhelmed  him  at  Colin.  In 
July  the  French  defeated  the  auxiliary  force  of  Hanover- 
ians, Brunswickers,  and  Hessians  which  England  had 
furnished  under  the  Duke  of  Cumberland.  In  August 


SUCCESSES  OF  THE  ENGLISH  AND  AMERICANS  63 


the  Russians  overpowered  a Prussian  army  under  Leh- 
wald,  and  in  September  the  allied  troops  were  pledged 
to  neutrality  by  their  English  commander  in  the  dis- 
graceful treaty  of  Closter-Seven.  The  humiliation  of 
Great  Britain  was  as  complete  in  Europe  as  in  America  ; 
even  the  elegant  Chesterfield  gave  way  to  a most  ungen- 
tlemanlihe  despair. 

Fortunately  the  treaty  of  alliance  with  Frederick  had 
in  April  been  widened  by  a promise  of  subsidy.  When 
Pitt  came  into  power  he  began  to  support  his 

great  ally  at  the  rate  of  seven  hundred  thou-  Frederick  and 
J . Pitt 

sand  pounds  a year,  wTorth  about  seven  mil- 
lions of  our  money  in  these  days.  The  convention  of 
Closter-Seven  was  denounced,  and  the  trilling  Duke  of 
Cumberland  was  replaced  by  Ferdinand  of  Brunswick, 
who  at  once  relieved  the  Prussian  monarch  from  anxiety 
about  western  Germany.  On  November  5th  Frederick 
crushed  the  French  and  imperialists  at  Rossbach  in  a 
battle  so  important  that  many  German  historians  date 
the  opening  of  all  modern  history  from  it.  Exactly  a 
month  later  the  Austrians  met  a similar  fate  at  Leuthen, 
where  Frederick  gave  an  exhibition  of  daring  and  brill- 
iant strategy  which  is  unsurpassed  in  military  history. 
First  and  last,  he  had  thus  far  fought  against  odds  of 
three  to  one  in  soldiers  who  actually  took  the  field. 

It  is  not  merely  from  the  standpoint  of  general  history 
that  the  Prussian  successes  are  connected  with  American 
affairs.  Their  moral  influence  was  direct  influence  of 
throughout  the  colonies.  The  devout  prayed  Amer- 

for  the  Protestant  champion,  and  with  the  ica- 
answer  to  their  prayers  came  new  life  and  energy 
into  their  disheartened  minds.  The  unbroken  experi- 
ence of  reverses  was  to  be  relieved  moreover  by  impor- 
tant victories  at  home,  although  the  tide  was  only  turn- 
ing and  did  not  reach  its  flood  until  the  following 


64  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

year.  Early  in  the  spring  Pitt  despatched  his  fleet 
under  Boscawen,  with  Amherst  and  Wolfe  on  hoard. 
On  May  28th,  1758,  they  reached  Halifax  after  a long,  and 
tempestuous  voyage.  There  were  twenty-two  line-of- 
battle  ships,  fifteen  frigates,  and  about  ten  thousand  ef- 
fective troops.  Adverse  weather  still  attended  them  on 
their  departure  from  Halifax,  but  after  six  days  of  beat- 
ing against  opposing  winds,  on  June  7tli  the  frigates 
opened  a protecting  fire  and  the  troops  were  landed  be- 
fore Louisburg  through  a raging  surf.  They  were  met 
by  a skilful  fusillade  from  behind  the  French  ramparts, 
but  with  characteristic  spirit  Wolfe,  who  had  waded 
through  the  shoal  water  before  the  boats  touched  land, 
rallied  the  troops,  captured  the  outposts,  and  drove  in 
the  enemy’s  lines.  The  same  day  the  town  was  invested. 

The  French  had  put  forth  many  efforts  for  the  fortress 
which  seemed  to  them  the  key  of  their  supremacy.  The 
Fall  of  Louis-  works  were  well  constructed,  the  garrison 
burs-  ample,  but  of  all  the  vessels  they  had  des- 
patched only  twelve  lay  within  the  harbor,  misfortune  of 
various  kinds  having  overtaken  the  others.  Of  those 
six  wrere  sunk  at  the  mouth  of  the  j3ort  to  prevent  the 
entrance  of  Boscawen’s  fleet.  Day  by  day  the  cannon 
boomed  on  both  sides  from  fleet  and  port,  while  the 
English  lines  were  drawn  closer  and  closer.  The  usual 
incidents  of  a regular  siege  were  varied  by  the  inter- 
change of  unusual  courtesies  between  Amherst  and 
Drucour.  At  short  intervals  Wolfe  kept  performing 
some  striking  deed  of  valor.  Finally  the  buildings 
behind  the  French  lines  were  rendered  useless  and 
untenable,  and  on  July  26th  a breach  was  made  by  the 
English  cannon  in  the  walls  themselves.  There  was 
nothing  left  for  the  brave  garrison  but  to  capitulate. 
Terms  of  surrender  honorable  to  both  sides  were  ar- 
ranged. The  prisoners,  five  thousand  six  hundred  and 


SUCCESSES  OF  THE  ENGLISH  AND  AMERICANS  65 


thirty-seven  in  number,  officers,  soldiers,  and  marines, 
were  sent  to  England,  and  though  the  place  itself  was 
abandoned  the  neighboring  French  lands,  Cape  Breton 
and  Prince  Edward’s  Island,  were  occupied.  One  success 
only  Drucour  had  gained,  he  had  protracted  the  siege 
until  it  was  now  too  late  for  Amherst  to  co-operate  with 
Abercrombie  in  the  attack  on  Ticonderoga  by  an  ad- 
vance into  Canada.  In  his  extraordinary  exertions  Wolfe 
had  been  the  soul  of  affairs,  but  he  was  weakened  by  ex- 
posure and  his  feeble  constitution  seriously  impaired. 
Accordingly,  he  first  obeyed  the  distasteful  orders  of 
Amherst  to  destroy  the  French  fishing  villages  of  Ga'spe 
and  Miramichi,  and  then  sailed  for  England.  Amherst 
himself  started  with  six  regiments,  by  way  of  Boston,  to 
join  the  expedition  against  Ticonderoga. 

Hitherto  the  exertions  of  the  colonists  had  been  lamed 
by  two  considerations  : first,  the  knowledge  that  every  aid 
they  gave  to  the  permanent  military  power 

^ ■ •**  - ~ . •*- — ^ Pitt  arouses 

which  had  been  established  ambng~ffiem  American  cn- 

was  to  strengthen  the  only  menace  to  their  tluihiasm- 

liberties  ; second,  The  haughty- contempFwith  which  they 

had  been  treated  on  the  field  and  the  disrespect  shown 

to  their  officers,  who  were  generally  elected  by  themselves. 

But  enthusiasm  for  the  courage  and  capacity  of  Pitt  lifted 

them  for  the  time  above  all  considerations  of  expediency, 

and  they  obeyed  his  summons  with  alacrity. 

In  the  early  summer,  while  the  English  bombs  were 
bursting  over  doomed  Louisburg,  there  assembled  on  the 
shores  of  Lake  George  what  is  said  to  have 
been  the  largest  number  of  white  soldiers  bie  before  Ti- 
hitherto  gathered  on  the  continent,  an  army  ° 
of  fifteen  thousand  men,  six  thousand  three  hundred 
and  sixty-seven  British  regulars  and  nine  thousand  and 
twenty  four  American  provincials,  chiefly  from  New  Eng- 
land, New  York,  and  northern  New  Jersey.  Its  nominal 


66  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

commander  was  Abercrombie,  the  former  lieutenant  of 
Loudon.  He  was  a survivor  from  a regime  now  happily 
passed  away  and  was  dubbed  by  the  rustic  wit  of  the 
colonies  “ Nabbiecrombie.”  The  real  leader  was  intended 
to  be  Loi’d  Howe,  regarded  by  penetrating  men  like 
Wolfe  and  Pitt  as  the  mirror  of  military  virtue.  He  had 
the  same  peculiar  power  which  Wolfe  had  shown  of  in- 
spiring enthusiasm  and  energy  in  every  member  of  his 
expedition.  His  discipline  was  most  severe,  but  he 
shared  it  with  every  common  soldier,  and  his  easy  grace 
commanded  respect  and  affection  from  every  grade. 
Among  the  colonial  officers  were  Captain  Stark,  of  New 
Hampshire,  and  Major  Israel  Putnam,  of  Connecticut. 
Every  preparation  which  human  foresight  could  suggest 
had  been  made  ; Lord  Howe  and  his  regulars  had  thor- 
oughly drilled  themselves  in  the  tactics  of  forest  fighting, 
there  were  nine  hundred  bateaux  and  one  hundred  and 
thirty-five  whale-boats  for  the  troops,  with  stout  barges 
for  the  artillery.  The  expedition  moved  down  the  lake 
on  July  5th.  The  equipments  were  in  good  order,  offi- 
cers and  men  in  high  spirits.  Early  next  morning  they 
landed  near  the  foot  on  the  west  shore,  at  a point  still 
known  as  Howe’s  Cove. 

The  outlet  is  a rapid  stream,  four  miles  long  and  full 
of  cataracts,  emptying  into  Lake  Champlain.  For  half 
its  length  it  flows  north  and  then  makes  a 
Topography.  gjiarp  ^urn  to  the  east.  The  thoroughfare 
from  the  landing-place  followed  the  stream  a short  dis- 
tance on  the  left  bank,  passed  over  to  the  right  by  a 
bridge,  and  leaving  the  great  bend  far  to  the  west,  crossed 
the  outlet  once  more  by  a second  bridge  about  a mile 
from  the  fort.  To  the  east  of  the  second  bridge,  on 
both  sides  of  the  river,  were  morasses  and  low  meadows, 
and  just  below  it  were  a waterfall  and  saw-mills.  On 
its  left  bank,  at  the  mouth,  stood  Ticonderoga,  upon  a 


SUCCESSES  OF  THE  ENGLISH  AND  AMERICANS  67 


promontory  protected  on  three  sides  by  water,  and  on 
the  fourth  by  strong  outworks  and  an  abattis,  the  only 
access  being  from  the  northwest. 

Montcalm  had  made  his  dispositions  with  care,  a 
picket  was  at  the  landing-place  and  three  hundred 
skirmishers  had  been  thrown  out  to  annoy  Death  of 
and  observe  the  enemy.  Both  bridges  were  Howe, 
burnt,  and  the  English  force,  under  incompetent  guides, 
began  its  march  on  the  sixth  through  the  wilds  on  the 
west  bank,  crossing  ravines  and  climbing  steep  banks 
without  even  a wood-path  to  diminish  their  pains. 
Though  keeping  their  general  course  thejr  were  soon 
lost,  their  ranks  broken,  and  after  two  hours’  weary 
marching  but  a semblance  of  regular  advance  in  col- 
umns was  maintained.  At  the  head  of  the  foremost 
body  were  Howe  and  Putnam,  scrambling  over  the 
fallen  trunks  and  crashing  through  the  underbrush, 
when  suddenly  a body  of  the  French  skirmishei-s,  in 
even  worse  disorder,  appeared  on  the  left,  having  also 
lost  their  way.  The  collision  was  short  and  sharp,  the 
French  stragglers  were  soon  overpowered,  but  Lord 
Howe  fell  dead  at  the  first  onset.  All  courage  and  what 
little  order  was  left  seemed  to  vanish  immediately,  such 
had  been  the  reliance  of  all  on  their  young  leader.  The 
army  bivouacked  for  the  night  where  it  was,  and  re- 
turned next  day  to  the  landing. 

Irresolution  and  fatuity  marked  the  course  of  the  ex- 
pedition almost  from  the  moment  of  Howe’s  death.  Ab- 
ercrombie was  a timid  elderly  man,  appoint-  Montcalm’s 
ed  through  political  influence,  who  seems  to  preparations, 
have  had  little  confidence  in  his  own  judgment,  and  to 
have  felt  that  others  had  none  at  all.  Montcalm’s  force, 
even  with  reinforcements  which  were  to  come  up  under 
Levis,  was  less  than  a quarter  of  Abercrombie’s.  The 
venality  of  the  French  officials  in  Canada  had  become  a 


68  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


scandal,  and  Yaudreuil’s  jealousy  of  the  commander  was 
intolerable.  Between  these  two  disasters  the  effective 
fighting  force  was  reduced  to  the  lowest  limit,  and  the 
soldiery  was  ill-fed,  ill-equipped,  and  dispirited.  But 
they  had  unbounded  faith  in  their  leader.  On  July  8th, 
early  in  the  morning,  his  final  arrangements  were  made, 
and  his  entire  army  of  three  thousand  six  hundred  and 
fifty  men,  including  Levis,  were  under  the  walls  of  the 
fort,  busy  strengthening  the  log  entrenchments,  which 
stretched  across  the  central  ridge  from  bogs  on  one  side 
to  wet  meadows  on  the  other.  They  were  rendered  im- 
pregnable to  infantry  by  an  abattis  of  tree-tops  formed 
by  the  frontiersman’s  simple  device  of  felling  the  trees 
for  the  distance  of  a musket-shot,  with  their  butts  to 
the  breastwork  and  their  bushy  crowns  to  the  enemy. 
Bradstreet,  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Sixtieth  Royal 
American  Regiment,  had  promptly  occupied  the  aban- 
doned French  positions  on  the  road  and  rebuilt  both 
the  bridges.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  seventh,  the  whole 
English  force  advanced  and  camped  at  the  falls  by  the 
second  bridge,  a mile  and  a half  from  the  enemy’s  posi- 
tion. The  same  day  Sir  William  Johnson  arrived  with 
four  hundred  and  forty  Iroquois  braves,  who  climbed 
the  slopes  of  Mount  Defiance,  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
stream,  overlooking  Ticonderoga.  There  they  remained, 
uninterested  spectators  of  the  sequel,  amusing  them- 
selves by  the  occasional  discharge  of  their  firearms. 

About  noon  on  the  eighth  the  English  troops  ap- 
peared before  the  outworks.  No  artillery  was  brought  to 
Failure  of  the  break  through  the  light  breastwork,  nor  set 
attack.  rake  the  fort  from  Mount  Defiance.  No 

flank  movement  was  attempted,  nor  any  attempt  made 
to  cut  off  the  French  base  of  supplies  and  starve  out 
the  enemy.  To  the  blank  amazement  of  their  foes  the 
English  marched,  left,  centre,  and  right,  direct  into  the 


SUCCESSES  OF  THE  ENGLISH  AND  AMERICANS  69 


leafy  tree-tops,  with  orders  to  carry  the  breastwork  at 
the  point  of  the  bayonet.  They  were  met  by  an  appall- 
ing and  deadly  fire  of  balls  and  grape-shot  from  mus- 
kets and  swivel-guns,  and  driven  back.  Abercrombie 
himself  was  esconced  at  the  saw-mills,  whence  he  at- 
tempted, by  a flotilla  despatched  down  the  outlet,  to 
turn  the  enemy’s  left,  but  the  cannon  of  the  fort  made 
it  impossible.  From  that  safe  retreat  he  despatched  his 
orders  to  charge  again.  Six  times,  between  one  and 
seven  o’clock  of  the  afternoon,  the  dauntless  British  and 
provincials  dashed  their  ranks  against  the  bristling  en- 
trenchment, only  to  be  driven  back  with  ever-increas- 
ing slaughter.  The  American  rangers  and  colonial  mi  • 
litia  fought  a few  skirmishes  to  the  left  of  our  lines,  but 
at  twilight  nineteen  hundred  and  forty-four  brave  Eng- 
lishmen lay  dead  on  the  field,  the  survivors  of  the 
charging  columns  were  at  length  withdrawn,  and  the 
frightened  general,  with  his  thirteen  thousand  men  and 
unused  artillery,  set  out  in  full  retreat,  after  setting  fire 
to  the  saw-mills  which  had  sheltered  his  own  person 
during  the  long  disastrous  day. 

A braver  or  more  stupid  conflict  is  not  recorded  on 
the  page  of  history.  The  French,  behind  their  stanch 
woodland  defences,  lost  about  four  hundred  Retreat  of 
men.  Their  partisans  and  savages  were  at  Abercrombie, 
once  unleashed  on  the  surrounding  country,  while  Aber- 
crombie with  his  entire  army  lay  stunned  at  the  head  of 
Lake  George,  until  Amherst  reached  him  with  his  useless 
reinforcements  in  October.  Abercrombie,  like  Loudon, 
returned  to  a seat  in  Parliament  to  vote  in  due  season 
against  the  colonists,  to  whom  he  likewise  attributed  his 
failures. 

The  sloth  of  the  general,  his  timidity,  and  the  wretched 
retreat  were  severely  criticised  by  many  in  his  army  ; 
but  it  gave  the  opportunity  for  the  dashing  Bradstreet 


70  THE  FRENCH  AVAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


to  take  up  again  a design  he  had  repeatedly  opened  to 
both  Loudon  and  Abercrombie,  tbat  of  an  attack  on 
Recapture  Fort  Frontenac.  If  successful  it  would  cut 
of  Oswego.  pae  French  line  of  communication  at  a vital 
point.  Even  now  the  commander  would  not  listen,  but 
a council  of  war  authorized  the  enterprise.  With  three 
thousand  provincials,  among  whom  were  the  Clintons 
from  New  York,  the  expedition  set  out  from  the  Oneida 
portage,  then  in  command  of  General  Stanwix.  Forty- 
two  Iroquois  accompanied  it.  They  reached  Oswego  in 
safety  and  crossed  Lake  Ontario  in  a flotilla  of  open  boats, 
whale-boats,  and  bateaux,  and  landed  on  August  25th  a 
short  distance  from  the  walls  of  Frontenac.  On  the 
twenty-sixth  the  commander,  with  his  little  garrison  of  a 
hundred  and  ten  men,  surrendered  to  the  superior  force. 

The  place  was  packed  with  supplies  for  Fort  Duquesne 
and  the  west  — guns,  ammunition,  stores,  and  goods 
Effect  of  the  f°r  barter.  Nine  armed  vessels,  too,  were 
success.  there,  some  of  them  mounting  eighteen  guns. 
Their  crews  escaped,  but  the  boats  themselves  were  cap- 
tured with  their  armament.  The  Indians  were  consoled 
for  the  scalps  they  were  forbidden  to  take  by  abundant 
booty  ; the  little  flotilla,  increased  by  two  of  the  captured 
vessels,  was  loaded  to  the  water’s  edge  with  useful  spoils. 
What  could  not  be  transported  was  destroyed,  and  the 
walls  of  the  fortress  were  razed.  Tbe  expedition  re- 
turned in  high  spirits  to  Lake  George,  leaving  a portion 
of  its  numbers  to  garrison  the  new  fort  at  Oneida  por- 
tage, which  Stanwix  was  building  to  take  the  place  of 
Oswego.  The  effect  of  this  success,  easily  as  it  was 
achieved,  was  very  great.  The  wavering  Indians  were 
taught  to  observe  a strict  neutrality  or  give  their  alle- 
giance to  the  English,  and  Fort  Duquesne  was  rendered 
virtually  untenable  by  the  French. 

Hitherto  the  middle  colonies  had  used  but  one  line  of 


SUCCESSES  OF  THE  ENGLISH  AND  AMERICANS  71 

communication  ■with  the  far  west,  Braddock’s  route, 
which  followed  the  Potomac  to  Cumberland,  and  crossed 
by  an  easy  carry  to  the  head-waters  of  the  The  middle 
Youghiogheny,  an  affluent  of  the  Mononga- 
hela.  The  English  ministry  threw  itself  al-  diuou- 
most  entirely  on  the  support  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland, 
Virginia,  and  Carolina  for  the  men  and  supplies  with 
which  Forbes  was  to  reduce  Fort  Duquesne.  The  previ- 
ous year  had  seen  a sharp  dispute  between  the  governor 
of  Pennsylvania  and  the  assembly,  which  had  demanded 
as  a right  his  signature  to  a bill  taxing  the  proprie- 
tary lands  as  well  as  other  real  estate.  And,_yet  such 
was  her  ardor  that  she  furnished  twenty-seven  hundred 
men  under  the  famous  John  Armstrong.  A similar  dis- 
pute was  the  constant  occupation  of  the  Maryland  dele- 
gates, but  they  did  little  for  the  cause.  Virginia  sent 
nineteen  hundred  men  under  Washington,  whose  fame 
had  suffered  nothing  from  his  disputes  with  the  touchy 
governor  Dinwiddie  concerning  the  number  of  troops 
needed  to  defend  three  hundred  miles  of  frontier 
against  the  savage  allies  of  France.  The  new  gov- 
ernor gave  him  more  aid.  There  were  also  some  pro- 
vincials from  North  Carolina,  twelve  hundred  and  fifty 
highlanders  from  South  Carolina,  and  a corps  of  royal 
Americans  commanded  by  an  admirable  Swiss  officer. 
Bouquet. 

Forbes  reached  Philadelphia  in  April,  but  his  force 
did  not  move  until  June  was  nearly  over.  His  delay  in 
starting  wras  diplomatic,  for  he  knew  how  the  leaven  of 
savage  disaffection,  with  the  weakness  of  the  French  and 
their  inability  to  fulfil  their  promises,  was  working.  But 
the  still  greater  delay  after  the  march  was  begun  arose 
from  a mortal  illness,  which  grew  worse  with  every  stage, 
and  confined  him  to  a litter  earned  by  his  troops.  In 
July  Washington  was  at  Cumberland,  and  Bouquet,  with 


72  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


an  advance  guard  at  Raystown,  now  named  Bedford, 
from  the  fortification  then  erected  there. 

Each  represented  one  of  the  two  opinions  held  con- 
cerning the  further  route  of  march.  Washington,  both 
Washington  from  conviction  and  loyalty  to  the  interests 
and  Bouquet.  Qf  colony)  upheld  the  advantages  of  Brad- 
dock’s  road.  Bouquet  put  forward  the  superior  claims 
of  an  entirely  new  line,  up  the  headwaters  of  the  Juniata, 
across  the  transverse  ridges  and  valleys  of  the  Allegheny 
and  Laurel  Ridge  mountain  chains  to  the  Loyal  Hanna, 
a tributary  of  the  Allegheny.  This  was  the  more  direct 
road,  though  the  more  difficult,  and  as  the  expedition 
hoped  forever  to  rout  the  French  from  the  Ohio  Valley, 
Forbes,  supported  by  the  Pennsylvania  influence,  deter- 
mined to  take  it,  and  thus  add  a new  highway  to  the  old 
ones,  between  the  seaboard  and  the  Mississippi  Valley. 
Washington  therefore  yielded,  and  joined  the  main 
force. 

Bouquet  advanced  Avith  two  thousand  men  to  the 
Loyal  Hanna  River,  whence  he  threw  out  eight  hundred 

Defeat  at  skirmishers  under  Grant,  to  reconnoitre  the 
Grant’s  Hill.  ] ieig]i  ts  above  Fort  Duquesne.  They  reached 
what  has  since  been  known  as  Grant’s  Hill,  overlooking 
the  post,  on  September  14th.  The  leader’s  plan  was 
to  decoy  a portion  of  the  garrison  from  their  shelter,  and 
capture  them.  But  the  expectation  of  infei’ior  num- 
bers was  based  on  false  information,  a mad  rush  of  num- 
bers far  superior  to  the  assailants  threw  the  latter  into 
confusion,  and  Avliile  the  loss  was  terrible,  no  less  than 
two  hundred  and  seventy-three  killed,  wounded,  and 
prisoners,  there  would  have  been  an  actual  massacre  but 
for  the  coolness  of  the  Virginians,  who  had  been  care- 
fully equipped  and  trained  for  frontier  warfare  by 
Washington. 

The  commanding  general  did  not  reach  Bedford  un- 


SUCCESSES  OF  THE  ENGLISH  AND  AMERICANS  73 


til  September.  He  had  grown  weaker  in  his  painful 
progress,  but,  with  courage  and  persistence,  pressed  on 
to  the  camp  of  Loyal  Hanna,  where  he  ar-  Illliesg  of 
rived  on  November  5th.  A council  of  war  Forbes, 
was  held,  and  the  decision  to  go  no  farther  was 
taken. 

A few  weeks  later  the  Delawares,  and  some  other 
Indian  tribes,  renounced  the  French  alliance  in  a meet- 
ing with  Frederick  Post  at  Easton,  which  Weakness 
had  been  planned  by  Forbes.  The  same  in-  °onth|t  SFort 
fluence  must  have  been  at  work  in  the  French  Luqueine' 
fort,  for  the  savages  from  Detroit  and  the  Wabash  de- 
parted, and  Ligneris,  the  commander,  learning  that  no 
supplies  could  be  expected  from  Frontenac,  sent  away 
a number  of  his  white  soldiers.  This  news  reached 
Washington  on  the  twelfth,  and  knowing  how  to  con- 
duct such  affairs  by  reason  of  his  past  experience,  as  no 
other  could,  he  was  at  once  despatched  with  twenty-five 
hundred  picked  men. 

Armstrong,  who  was  expert  in  woodland  manoeuvres, 
was  sent  ahead  with  a thousand  of  them.  On  the  twenty- 
fourth  the  entire  expedition  bivouacked  on  Advance  of 
Turtle  Creek,  ten  miles  from  the  confluence 
of  the  two  great  rivers  which  form  the  Ohio.  strons- 
The  pace  had  been  severe,  for  snow  lay  on  the  ground 
and  the  paths  grew  soft  and  sticky  with  the  moisture. 
That  night  the  French  force  of  but  five  hundred  men, 
seeing  themselves  outnumbered  and  destitute  of  pro- 
visions wherewith  to  maintain  a siege,  fired  the  fort 
and  departed,  some  up  the  Allegheny  to  Fort  Machault, 
some  to  Presqu’  Isle  toward  Lake  Erie,  and  some  sailed 
away  down  the  river.  The  next  day  the  troops  of  Wash- 
ington reached  the  place.  Nothing  was  left  but  smoul- 
dering ruins. 

The  English  flag  was  raised  on  a staff  by  Armstrong’s 


74  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


hand.  The  next  day  was  observed  as  a thanksgiving 
festival.  On  the  twenty-eighth  a party  pushed  up 
the  Monongahela  to  Braddock’s  Fields,  and 
Fort  Du-  buried  the  whitened  skeletons  they  found  still 
qncsne.  lying  where  they  had  fallen.  A young  officer, 
Major  Halket,  recognized  in  two,  which  were  locked  in  a 
firm  embrace,  the  remains  of  his  father  and  brother,  the 
former  having  some  marked  conformation  of  the  teeth. 
Such  supplies  as  were  available  were  then  collected,  and 
a rude  stockade  was  hastily  built  around  a few  huts. 
Two  hundred  men,  the  largest  garrison  which  could  sus- 
tain itself  during  the  winter  with  the  provisions  which 
could  be  spared,  were  then  installed  in  the  quarters. 
The  rest  reached  Philadelphia  without  adventure,  carry- 
ing their  iron-hearted  leader  in  a litter  from  stage  to 
stage,  exactly  as  they  had  brought  him.  He  died  the 
fob  owing  March,  having  taken  from  France  her  hopes  of 
savage  support  in  that  quarter,  and  the  golden  oppor- 
tunity of  occupying  the  valley  of  the  Ohio. 

The  site  of  Fort  Duquesne  still  bears  the  name  of 
Pittsburgh,  which  he  gave  it  in  honor  of  the  man  whose 
Pitt’s  mouu-  ideas  had  inspired  him.  It  is  the  poetry  of 
meat.  history  that  the  great  commoner,  to  whom 
the  interests  of  the  colonies  were  so  dear,  who  stood 
then  and  afterward  in  defence  of  their  liberties,  at  the 
risk  of  popularity  and  power,  should  have  found,  in  the 
great  city  which  commands  that  fertile  western  land, 
a monument  such  as  no  sovereign  prince  has  ever  had 
reared  in  his  memory. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


NIAGARA  AND  QUEBEC— 1759 

Quarrels  and  Disaffection  among  tlie  French — Course  of  the  War  in 
Europe — The  Height  of  England’s  Military  Grandeur — Pitt's 
Plan  for  the  Campaign  in  America — Wolfe — Enthusiasm  in  the 
Colonies — Capture  of  Niagara — Important  Results — Evacuation 
of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  by  the  French — Futility  of 
Amherst’s  Campaign — Montcalm  at  Quebec — Measures  of  De- 
fence— The  English  Fleet  in  the  St.  Lawrence — Disposition  of 
the  Land  Forces — French  Fire-ships — Desultory  Operations 
during  July — Wolfe  at  the  Falls  of  Montmorency — Defeat  of 
the  English — Movements  during  August — The  Plan  for  Scal- 
ing the  Heights  of  Abraham. 

Affairs  in  Canada  liad  come  to  a crisis.  The  quarrel 
between  Yaudreuil  and  Montcalm  was  so  bitter  that  it 
was  carried  home  to  the  court.  The  latter  was  Quarrels  and 
supported,  himself  and  friends  were  loaded  among1  e<then 
with  new  honors,  but  substantial  aid  in  men  -French- 
and  supplies  was  withheld.  A few  hundred  recruits 
and  some  absolutely  essential  munitions  were  embarked 
and  reached  Quebec  in  safety,  but  the  condition  of  the 
province  was  no  less  desperate.  The  officials  were  so 
recklessly  dishonest  that  even  the  scanty  supplies  af- 
forded never  reached  those  for  whom  they  were  intended. 
From  Bigot,  the  intendaut,  down  to  the  meanest  commis- 
sary in  Fort  Duquesne,  not  excepting  the  commander 
Ligneris,  every  man  through  whose  hands  they  passed 
stole  a portion,  until  the  troops,  half-starved  and  revenge- 
ful, grew  mutinous  as  well.  The  Indians,  too,  found 
the  articles  they  wanted  few  and  dear,  and  became  so 


76  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


disaffected  that  the  example  of  the  powerful  Delawares 
in  abandoning  the  French  grew  more  and  more  conta- 
gious. The  Canadians  themselves  had  thus  far  been 
deceived  in  every  respect  by  the  gasconade  of  Vaudreuil, 
and  having  sustained  their  courage  by  faith  in  a glory 
which  was  fictitious,  suddenly  found  themselves  with 
half-tilled  fields  and  scanty  crops,  large  contributions 
from  which  were  often  exacted  for  the  king,  while  an 
angry  aud  licentious  soldiery  were  quartered  in  their 
cabins  at  the  munificent  rate  of  fifteen  francs  a man  per 
month.  It  was  evident  that  the  rottenness  and  intrigue 
so  successfully  imitated  from  Paris  and  Versailles  would 
quickly  finish  their  work  in  Montreal  and  Quebec. 
Montcalm  lost  the  buoyant  cheerfulness  natural  to  his 
southern  blood,  and  with  a secret  desperation,  but  half- 
veiled  by  his  assumed  and  pathetic  courage,  prepared  to 
obey  the  instructions  from  home,  to  confine  operations 
for  the  coming  season  to  posts  close  together  and  with 
easy  intercourse  one  with  the  other.  And  all  the  time 
Vaudreuil  blustered,  threatened,  and  plotted  ; nor  was 
the  tide  of  official  corruption  stayed  even  for  an  instant. 
Many  expected  and  some  desired  the  overthrow  of  New 
France,  hoping  to  escape  detection  and  punishment. 

The  course  of  the  Seven  Years’  War  on  the  Continent 
was  far  from  uniform.  In  the  west  the  able  and  deter- 
mined Ferdinand  defeated  the  French  at  Cre- 
the  war  in  Eu-  feld,  forcing  them  across  the  Rhine.  Fred- 
rope'  erick  spent  much  time  at  Olmiitz,  where  he 

was  unsuccessful.  But  in  August  he  won  a fierce  and 
bloody  battle  over  the  Russians  at  Zomdorf.  Hastening 
thence  to  aid  his  brother  Henry  against  the  Austrians,  he 
wras  in  turn  beaten  at  Hochkirch  by  Marshal  Daun.  At 
the  opening  of  1759  Ferdinand  likewise  suffered  a re- 
verse at  the  hands  of  De  Broglie,  but  on  August  1st  he 
took  summary  vengeance  at  the  battle  of  Minden.  The 


NIAGARA  AND  QUEBEC 


77 


day  was  a signal  victory,  and  would  have  been  an  utter 
rout  for  the  enemy,  if  Lord  George  Sackville  had  used 
the  turn  of  affairs  by  hurling  the  English  cavalry  against 
the  faltering  lines  of  his  opponents.  It  was  not  a mere 
error  of  judgment,  and  he  was  punished  later  for  coward- 
ice. On  that  day  a new  revelation  was  made  to  the  stu- 
dent of  the  art  of  war.  Six  English  infantry  regiments, 
through  a mistake  in  interpreting  an  order,  charged  the 
French  cavalry  opposite  them,  and  regardless  of  a raking 
artillery  lire,  successfully  broke  through  the  lines.  Twelve 
days  later  Frederick  was  defeated  by  the  combined  Aus- 
trians and  Russians  at  Kunersdorf.  The  possible  conse- 
quences were  averted  by  the  dissensions  of  his  foes.  The 
road  to  Berlin  was  open,  but  they  did  not  take  it.  Dres- 
den, however,  surrendered  and  a part  of  Saxony  was  lost. 
Yet  this,  his  darkest  hour,  was  marked  by  the  same  un- 
surpassable qualities  of  greatness  which  illuminated  his 
whole  career.  The  winter  found  him  still  master  of  Si- 
lesia and  much  of  Saxony. 

The  year  1759  seemed  in  England  to  atone  for  the 
past.  Her  career  of  victory  both  by  land  and  by  sea  was 
abnost  unbroken.  To  herself  and  to  others  The  ojree 
she  seemed  to  be  a world  power  of  the  first  military^ Un- 
importance, and  in  the  sphere  of  general  his-  deur- 
tory  she  has  never  since  outdone  the  achievements  of 
that  wonderful  time.  France,  in  the  last  effort  of  exhaus- 
tion, made  a feint  of  invading  England,  and  began  os- 
tentatious preparations  in  the  harbors  of  Toulon  and 
Havre.  In  July  Rodney  bombarded  Havre,  and  rendered 
ineffective  whatever  had  been  done  there  ; Boscawen  fell 
upon  the  Toulon  fleet  off  Lagos,  and  scattered  it  ; while 
Sir  Edward  Hawke  gained  a decisive  victory  over  Ad- 
miral de  Conflans,  near  Quiberon.  A little  British 
squadron  during  the  same  summer  conquered  Senegal. 
Keppel  after  a short  struggle  seized  Goree.  Pococke 


78  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

kept  tlie  upper  hand  in  East  Indian  waters  ; and  although 
the  West  Indian  fleet  failed  against  Martinique,  it  never- 
theless captured  Guadeloupe.  Byng’s  defeat  at  Minorca 
had  stung  the  nation  to  hasty  injustice,  for  they  saw 
themselves  stripped  of  naval  supremacy.  It  was  felt 
that  Quiberon  had  restored  that  mastery.  There  was  in 
all  English  history  no  agreement  so  pusillanimous  as 
that  of  Closter-Seven.  Men  saw  in  Minden  the  restora- 
tion of  England’s  military  honor.  No  less  than  twelve 
millions  of  supplies  was  voted  by  parliament  during 
the  year. 

But  the  highest  lustre  shines  on  Pitt’s  ministry  for 
none  of  these  things.  It  is  remembered  in  the  story 
Pitt’s  plan  °f  the  world  for  deeds  quite  as  illustrious 
puignAn  Am-  in  another  quarter  of  the  globe,  and  more 
erica-  lasting  in  their  influence  on  human  destinies 

than  any  of  these.  The  American  campaign  was  again 
laid  out  on  a complete  and  far-sighted  plan.  The  frontier 
between  the  newly  founded  Pittsburgh  and  Lake  Erie 
was  to  be  secured  and  held  by  Stanwix  ; Sir  WTilliam 
Johnson  and  Prideaux  were  to  collect  Indians  and  pro- 
vincials, and  advance  by  Niagara  and  Lake  Ontario  on 
Montreal.  Amherst  had  been  appointed  commander-in- 
chief. With  the  main  army  he  was  to  march  as  far  as 
Lake  Champlain,  and  there  seize  the  chance,  if  it  offered, 
to  unite  with  the  army  of  the  St.  Lawrence  for  the  cap- 
ture of  Quebec.  Into  this  latter  purpose  the  moral 
strength  and  nervous  vitality  of  the  whole  movement 
were  thrown.  Admiral  Saunders,  in  command  of  the 
fleet,  was  a thorough  officer,  a man  of  noble  and  generous 
personality,  great  enough  to  co-operate  without  jealousy 
or  to  rise  independently  to  the  height  of  an  emer- 
gency. 

Of  Wolfe,  Pitt’s  general,  as  he  was  called,  we  have 
already  spoken.  His  form  was  feeble  and  his  face 


NIAGARA  AND  QUEBEC 


79 


uncomely,  but  the  fire  of  his  energy  glowed  in  his  fine 

eyes.  After  the  dashing  exploits  of  the  preceding  year 

he  had  spent  the  winter  in  London,  where  he 

1 ? Wolfe. 

won  the  affections  of  a noble  woman  whom 
he  was  destined  never  to  see  again.  He  was  a devotee 
of  that  learning  which  is  its  own  end  and  reward,  and 
though  a soldier  at  heart,  often  found  refuge  from  the 
throng  of  camp  and  court  in  the  avocation  of  quiet  study. 
He  had  from  the  beginning  been  assigned  to  posts  not 
ordinarily  given  to  youth,  and  now,  in  the  zenith  of  his 
power,  he  was  but  thirty-two  years  old.  He  fully  real- 
ized the  confidence  placed  in  him,  and  the  importance  of 
the  command  wrhich  had  been  given  to  him.  To  one  of 
his  friends  he  had  used  these  words  : “I  feel  called  upon 
to  justify  the  notice  taken  of  me  by  such  exertions  and 
exposures  of  myself  as  will  probably  lead  to  my  fall.” 

/r~  The  colonies  were  inferior  to  no  other  part  of  the 
1 British  dominions  in  self-denying  enthusiasm.  In  some 
of  them,  as  in  Massachusetts,  fifteen  per  cent, 
of  all  able  bodied  men  were  under  arms  ; in  in  the  coio- 
others,  as  in  New  Jersey,  taxes  amounting  to 
five  dollars  for  every  man,  woman,  and  child,  were  im- 
posed in  support  of  the  war.  Provincials  and  regulars 
together,  there  were  about  fifty-two  thousand  effective 
men  in  the  field  ; Montcalm’s  forces  were  upward  of 
twelve  thousand,  excluding  the  savages. 

The  campaign  opened  by  the  successful  execution  of 
the  plan  regarding  Niagara.  Prideaux  had  two  regi- 
ments of  English  troops  with  artillery,  a bat-  capture  of 
talion  of  royal  Americans,  and  two  of  New  Niagara. 
York  provincials.  Sir  William  Johnson  brought  his 
quota  of  Iroquois.  A large  garrison  was  left  at  Fort 
Stanwix,  on  the  great  carrying  place,  and  still  another 
considerable  body  was  detached  at  Oswego  to  rebuild  the 
fort.  Early  in  July  the  small  remainder  sailed  from 


80  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

Oswego,  and  reached  Niagara  in  safety.  The  fort  stood 
on  the  promontory  where  the  river  sweeps  into  Lake  On- 
tario, and  as  befitted  its  importance,  had  been  entirely 
rebuilt  and  strengthened  by  its  commanding  oflicer, 
Poucliot.  But  after  some  blunders,  it  was  invested  in 
due  form  and  the  English  batteries  set.  Almost  at  the 
first  discharge  Prideaux  was  killed  by  the  bursting  of  a 
small  mortar.  But  Johnson  took  command  immediately, 
and  pursued  the  work  so  successfully  that  in  a short 
time  the  works  were  breached.  Meantime  the  French 
along  the  frontier  had  gathered  the  largest  possible  force 
to  retake  Fort  Pitt,  as  the  English  had  named  the  recon- 
structed Fort  Duquesne.  The  force  contained  but  few 
soldiers,  being  chiefly  bushrangers  and  Indians.  Such 
as  it  was,  however,  its  leaders,  Aubrey  and  Ligneris,  were 
ordered  to  bring  it  up  for  the  aid  of  the  beleaguered  gar- 
rison at  Niagara.  They  arrived,  eleven  hundred  whites 
and  two  hundred  Indians,  on  the  twenty-fourth,  but  were 
almost  at  once  engaged  by  the  British  forces  and  John- 
son’s Indians.  The  conflict  wras  short  but  decisive.  Many 
of  the  French  forces  were  killed,  aud  the  rest  fled,  most 
of  the  fugitives  continuing  their  retreat  as  far  as  Detroit. 
The  leaders  were  all  taken  prisoners.  There  was  nothing 
left  for  the  brave  garrison  but  surrender.  Johnson  made 
honorable  terms  for  them,  and  though  his  Indians  were 
permitted  to  plunder  the  fort,  no  massacre  revenged  the 
unforgotten  slaughter  at  Fort  William  Henry. 

By  this  success  Stanwix  was  enabled  to  occupy  the 
entire  frontier,  and  the  whole  upper  valley  of  the  Ohio 
important  passed  into  undisputed  English  possession. 

results.  qipg  p0Sts  of  the  French  at  Presqu’  Isle,  Ve- 
nango, and  Leboeuf  had  been  destroyed  by  the  fugitives, 
and  those  further  distant  in  the  wilderness  were  entirely 
cut  off  from  their  eastern  support.  The  only  outlet  for 
them  was  to  Louisiana.  The  colony  of  New  York  claimed 


NIAGARA  AND  QUEBEC 


81 


tlie  hitherto  debatable  lands  about  the  river  and  lakes. 
Amherst  hoped  to  gain  still  further  advantage  by  send- 
ing General  Gage  to  take  Prideaux’s  command  and  secure 
the  upper  St.  Lawrence.  Levis  had  been  sent  by  Mont- 
calm to  prevent  just  such  a movement.  He  had  but  eight 
hundred  men,  a number  insufficient  for  his  purpose. 
Gage  would  have  had  still  fewer  in  all  probability,  if  he 
had  sufficiently  garrisoned  Niagara  and  Oswego.  In  any 
case  he  made  no  effort  to  carry  out  his  orders,  and  re- 
ported that  the  plan  was  not  feasible. 

Holding  Ticonderoga  only  as  an  outpost,  the  French 
had  established  themselves  for  real  resistance  on  the 
Isle-aux-Noix,  in  the  middle  of  the  river  Rich-  _ .. 

elieu  below  Lake  Champlain.  Bourlamarque  of  Ticomie- 

L ± roga  ana 

was  in  command,  “ intrenched,  ’ as  he  said,  crown  Point 
, ..  , . by  the  French. 

“to  the  teeth,  and  armed  with  a hundred 
cannon.”  His  garrison  numbered  thirty-five  hundred, 
and  behind  him  was  Levis,  whose  very  name  was  a tower 
of  strength  to  the  Canadians.  Nothing  was  more  de- 
sired than  an  attack  by  Amherst.  The  English  army 
was  entirely  disproportionate  to  its  task,  five  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  forty-three  regulars  and  as  many  pro- 
vincials with  artillery  and  perfect  equipments.  By  June 
they  were  assembled  at  Lake  George,  on  July  21st  they 
sailed  down  the  lake,  next  day  there  was  a skirmish  un- 
der the  walls  of  Ticonderoga,  and  the  French  retreated 
finally  from  that  famous  spot  on  the  twenty-sixth,  and 
from  Crown  Point  on  August  1st. 

It  is  useless  to  speculate  on  the  motives  of  Amherst,  or 
to  call  him  dull  and  slow,  for  the  sequel  seems  incompre- 
hensible on  any  hypothesis.  He  at  once  be- 

1 ‘ r Futility  o £ 

gan  a costly  and  massive  fortress,  and  spent  Amherst’s 

the  remaining  months  of  the  season,  August,  campagn' 
September,  and  part  of  October  in  its  construction,  while 
a little  navy  of  three  vessels  was  building.  The  four 
6 


82  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

French  vessels  made  no  stand,  and  three  of  them  were 
rendered  useless  by  their  crews.  Thereupon  the  regulars 
embarked  in  open  boats,  but  a wintry  storm  arose  and 
after  five  days  the  expedition  returned  to  Crown  Point. 
In  August  the  general  had  sent  a messenger,  promising 
effectual  assistance,  who  reached  Wolfe  by  a long  detour 
after  a month’s  journey  ; a second  letter  was  despatched 
in  September  by  the  directer  route  of  the  Abenakis  on 
the  St.  Francis  River,  but  the  messengers  were  seized  by 
them  and  carried  to  Montreal.  In  revenge  Robert  Rog- 
ers, with  a party  of  rangers,  destroyed  the  village,  but  the 
generals  remained  ignorant  of  each  other’s  movements. 
This  was  the  end  of  Amherst’s  campaign,  and  the  result 
of  all  his  extravagant  preparation.  The  decisive  blow 
was  struck  elsewhere,  with  fewer  men  and  less  expendi- 
ture of  money,  but  with  a lavish  consumption  of  energy 
and  brains.  There  was  to  be  no  co-operation,  and  Wolfe 
had  therefore,  after  waiting  in  vain,  dauntlessly  under- 
taken his  task,  the  most  difficult  hitherto  assigned  to 
any  of  the  English  generals. 

In  pursuance  of  the  policy  of  concentration,  Montcalm 
had  gathered  into  the  army  around  Quebec  what  was 
Montcalm  at  substantially  the  effective  fighting  force  of 
Quebec.  Canada,  between  sixteen  and  seventeen  thou- 
sand men,  exclusive  of  the  Indians,  who  were  by  this 
time  disheartened  and  worthless.  The  city  stands  on 
a promontory  formed  by  the  great  river  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  on  the  southwest,  and  the  St.  Charles,  which 
directs  its  current  into  the  main  stream  in  a direction 
almost  due  east,  on  the  north  side  of  the  town.  At 
short  intervals  along  the  north  shore,  minor  rivers,  as 
the  Larry  and  the  Beaufort,  flow  down  from  the  high- 
lands of  the  interior,  until  the  rushing  torrent  of  the 
Montmorency  with  its  famous  waterfall  is  reached  at  a 
distance  of  about  seven  miles.  Quebec  itself  had  two 


NIAGARA  AND  QUEBEC 


S3 


parts,  the  lower  town  on  the  alluvium  of  the  St.  Charles, 
and  the  upper  on  a cliff,  the  slopes  of  which  were  crowned 
by  the  ramparts  ; and  these  in  turn  were  overtopped  on 
the  riverside  by  the  citadel.  The  majestic  flood  is  here 
crowded  into  a narrow  strait  thirteen  hundred  yards  in 
width.  The  left  bank  on  the  north  is  the  more  precipi- 
tous, and  on  its  summit,  level  with  the  upper  town,  lie  the 
plains  of  Abraham,  the  end  of  a tableland  which  stretches 
southwest  some  eight  miles  to  Cape  Rouge. 

Montcalm  had  done  everything  to  deserve  success. 
There  were  one  hundred  and  six  pieces  of  artillery  on 
the  walls  of  the  stronghold.  Above  the  place  Measures  o f 
as  far  as  Cape  Rouge,  batteries  and  mortars  defence, 
were  disposed  on  the  heights,  and  off  the  low  shores  lay 
tire  rafts.  Below  the  confluence  of  the  rivers  the  low 
shores,  as  far  as  the  intervals  of  Beaufort,  were  defended 
by  earthworks,  behind  which  were  the  headquarters  of 
Vaudreuil.  Beyond  Beaufort  the  land  was  much  higher, 
and  along  the  natural  escarpment  strong  ramparts  were 
thrown  up  as  far  as  the  falls  of  Montmorency.  At  the 
upper  end  of  these  Montcalm  had  his  quarters,  at  the 
lower  Levis.  Within  this  long  and  strong  line  the 
troops  were  placed  to  the  best  advantage,  two  thousand 
in  the  city,  the  remainder  in  camps  stretching  up  and 
down  the  river.  The  channel  at  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
Charles  was  closed  by  a chain  and  guarded  by  armed 
hulks. 

The  English  fleet,  with  Wolfe  and  his  army  of  eight 
thousand  men,  had  reached  Louisburg  in  May,  and  on 
June  26th  they  anchored  below  the  isle  of  Or- 
leans, some  miles  from  their  objective  point.  fleeHn^Uie'st 
Inere  were  many  men  on  board  whose  names 
were  to  become  either  famous  or  notorious,  among  them 
Cook,  the  navigator,  Monckton,  George  Townshend, 
Isaac  Barre,  WTlliam  Howe,  and  Guy  Carleton.  The 


84  THE  FRENCH  AVAR  ANI)  THE  REVOLUTION 


army  was  safely  disembarked.  Much  time  must,  of 
course,  be  spent  in  reconnoitring,  some  arrangements 
were  made  only  to  be  changed,  and  there  were  occasional 
skirmishes  of  no  importance.  The  fleet  commanded  the 
waters  ; batteries  were  accordingly  posted  on  the  east- 
ern point  of  the  Isle  of  Orleans,  and  across  the  south 
channel  of  the  river,  at  Point  Levy,  were  built  redoubts 
protected  and  strengthened  by  frigates  at  anchor  ; the 
shore  guns  were  able  to  throw  red-hot  balls  into  the 
lower  town,  which  they  burned.  The  citadel  was  beyond 
their  range. 

The  chief  camp  was  established  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Montmorency,  where  the  land  is  higher  than  that  occu- 
pied by  the  French  across  the  river,  and  to 
of^he  0fan°a  the  northeast  of  them.  Higher  up  the  stream, 
four  miles  in  the  interior,  a ford  was  found, 
but  there  was  a strong  entrenchment  on  the  French 
side  which  rendered  its  passage  impossible.  Such,  in 
short,  had  been  the  vigilance  and  capacity  of  the  coolly 
desperate  Montcalm,  that  from  the  Montmorency  on  one 
side  to  the  St.  Charles  on  the  other,  every  possible  means 
of  appi'oach  from  either  one  of  the  three  rivers  had  been 
examined  and  fortified.  His  confidence  that  the  citadel 
would  be  found  impregnable  was,  moreover,  not  ill- 
founded.  It  must  have  appeared  to  him  that  his  most 
dangerous  foe  was  starvation.  July  was  spent  by  Wolfe 
and  the  officers  of  the  fleet  in  industrious  but  unavailing 
examination  of  the  ground. 

The  French  had  begun,  as  early  as  June  21st,  to  use 
their  favorite  device  of  fire-ships.  They  tried  it  again 
French  fire-  on  the  twenty-eighth,  and  on  July  27th  de- 
ships.  spatched  an  ingeniously  constructed  raft  con- 
sisting of  numerous  vessels  against  the  fleet.  This  last 
infernal  engine  consisted,  according  to  their  own  ac- 
count, of  over  seventy  different  boats  and  rafts  together, 


NIAGARA  AND  QUEBEC 


85 


on  which  were  erected  old  cannon,  swivels,  muskets,  and 
mortars,  all  loaded  to  the  muzzle  with  powder,  ball,  and 
grapeshot.  The  whole  was  daubed  with  pitch  and  fired. 
In  this,  as  in  every  other  case,  however,  the  effort  was 
nugatory,  because,  while  the  flames  roared  and  the  worth- 
less firearms  exploded  and  burst,  the  brave  English  sail- 
ors grappled  the  craft  from  small  boats,  and  as  the  blaze 
lighted  the  sky  either  towed  them  into  channels  through 
which  they  passed  picturesquely  furious  but  harmless  on 
toward  the  sea,  or  else  ran  them  ashore. 

The  long  month  was  not  without  exciting  events. 
Day  and  night  the  heavens  were  tom  by  hissing  bombs 
and  the  thunder  of  artillery.  The  camp  on 
the  heights  of  the  Montmorency  shelled  the  operations 
French  under  Levis  across  the  intervening  durinsJu]y- 
chasm  ; a portion  of  the  fleet  bombarded  the  French 
works  below  Beaufort  ; the  batteries  of  Point  Levy  sent 
rain  and  havoc  into  the  lower  city  ; another  part  of  the 
squadron  ran  the  batteries  of  Quebec  citadel  in  safety, 
and  compelled  Montcalm  to  send  troops  for  the  defence 
of  the  highlands  above  the  town  ; a sharp,  short  fight 
occurred  at  the  ford  of  the  Montmorency  between  Cana- 
dian Indians  and  provincial  rangers,  and  there  was 
scarcely  a day  without  an  encounter  between  savages  and 
soldiers  in  the  precincts  of  the  various  English  camps, 
either  on  the  north  side,  or  on  the  island,  or  on  the 
point  opposite  the  city.  This  long  line  of  six  miles  or 
more,  with  two  great  arms  of  a mighty  river  crossing  it, 
was  further  lengthened  when  the  squadron  of  Admiral 
Holmes  passed  the  strait  and  anchored  above.  A land 
force  followed  and  made  the  British  position  even  more 
scattering  and  weak,  although  their  raids  rendered  a still 
greater  expanse  of  country  unsafe  and  greatly  weakened 
the  moral  courage  of  the  Canadians,  who  were  unable  to 
appreciate  the  Fabian  policy  of  Montcalm. 


80  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


Such  inconsequential  bustle  was  abhorrent  to  Wolfe’s 
character.  He  longed  for  action  and  a downright  trial  of 

strength  with  his  enemy.  As  a relief,  there- 
AVolfe  at  the  „ ° , . „ . , . , , , 

Falls  of  Mont-  fore,  to  his  feverish  impatience,  he  planned 

morency.  a sortie  fr0m  his  headquarters.  Below  the 
beautiful  falls  of  the  Montmorency,  where  it  plunges 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  one  grand  leap  from  the 
heights  above  into  a gorge  with  regular  and  perpendicu- 
lar walls,  the  stream  itself  widens,  and  spreading  its  shal- 
low waters  over  a broad  bed,  forms  at  its  mouth  a great 
muddy  shoal,  fordable  at  low  tide.  Between  the  heights 
and  the  high-water  mark  of  the  river  the  shore  is  but  a 
few  hundred  feet  wide,  and  at  the  flood  the  bed  of  the 
tributary  is  impassable.  On  the  French  side  there  were 
redoubts  below,  and  the  whole  slope  was  commanded  by 
earthworks  above.  The  morning  of  July  31st  opened 
with  an  artillery  fire  directed  across  the  chasm  against 
the  works  commanded  by  Levis.  The  result  was  very 
slight,  as  was  expected,  but  toward  midday  an  English 
force  of  about  fifteen  hundred  appeared  in  the  river  off 
Beaufort.  For  some  hours  they  passed  up  and  down  in 
their  boats,  making  several  feints  to  land.  Suddenly,  in 
the  early  evening,  at  the  very  ebb,  the  English  renewed 
their  cannonade,  this  time  not  only  from  the  main  camp, 
but  from  ships  in  the  river  and  from  Point  Levy,  and  the 
French  returned  the  fire.  In  the  midst  of  the  uproar 
the  British,  with  Wolfe  at  their  head,  landed  above  the 
shoal,  and  almost  simultaneously  another  party  from  the 
camp  below,  two  thousand  strong,  began  the  passage  of 
the  shallows. 

But  the  adventure  was  too  delicate  for  the  headstrong 
grenadiers  of  the  landing  party.  No  sooner  did  their 
feet  touch  the  shore  than  with  a headlong  rush,  and  with- 
out orders,  they  charged  the  French  redoubt.  Repulsed 
once  by  a deadly  fire  they  charged  again,  but  shaken  by 


NIAGARA  AND  QUEBEC 


87 


the  same  bloody  and  fearful  shock,  they  reeled  and 
fell  back.  At  that  instant  the  elements  burst  on  them 
in  a pouring  rain,  and  though  the  succor  of  Defeat  of  the 
their  friends  was  at  hand,  ammunition  was  EDgllsh- 
drenched,  all  tiring  was  at  an  end,  the  tide  was  on  the 
turn,  and  the  commander  ordered  a retreat.  The  dejec- 
tion of  the  departing  soldiers  was  heightened  by  the 
jeers  of  their  successful  foe,  who  quickly  regained  the 
works  above.  Four  hundred  and  forty-three  brave 
Englishmen  had  fallen  victims  to  their  own  impetuous 
disobedience,  and  the  savages  on  the  Canadian  side  de- 
fiantly rushed  down  to  scalp  the  dead  and  dying. 

Early  in  August  a force  of  twelve  hundred  men  was 
despatched  up  the  river  to  the  south  shore,  to  destroy  the 
enemy’s  shipping  which  had  been  anchored 
there  for  safety  while  the  sailors  manned  the  during  A u - 
citadel  batteries,  and  to  effect  if  possible  a gUbt' 
landing  on  the  north  shore.  There  were  hopes  as  well 
of  a junction  with  Amherst.  Two  ill-starred  attempts  at 
a landing  were  made,  a third  was  more  successful ; and 
the  news  of  the  inglorious  successes  of  the  commander-ir. 
chief  came  through  hostile  channels,  but  of  the  longed- 
for  arrival  of  his  splendid  army  there  was  no  word.  As 
day  by  day  the  precious  weeks  passed  on,  Wolfe’s  impa- 
tient disappointment  devekqied  into  an  actual  physical 
fever,  and  in  his  worried  brain  one  plan  succeeded  an- 
other only  to  be  rejected  by  his  cooler  subordinates. 
His  dominant  idea  was  a landing  below  Quebec,  theirs 
was  to  scale  the  heights  above  the  town  with  The  plan  for 
foui-  or  five  thousand  men,  and  compel  a heights*  of 
general  engagement.  Any  plan  was  better  Abraham- 
than  the  deadening  inactivity  of  the  English,  for  a cor- 
responding hopefulness  apparently  began  to  invigorate 
the  enemy.  The  instinct  of  the  besiegers  was  untrust- 
worthy, but  it  seemed  as  if  the  Indians  returned  more 


88  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

and  more  vigorously  to  their  pestilential  occupations, 
the  soldiery  in  their  daily  skirmishes  saw  among  the 
Canadians  boys  of  fifteen  and  men  of  seventy,  fighting 
with  equal  buoyancy  and  vigor,  and  Montcalm  they 
felt  was  steadily  growing  stronger  in  the  decimation  of 
their  own  army,  which  had  lost  since  June  eight  hun- 
dred and  fifty  men,  and  was  further  weakened  by  pre- 
vailing disease.  Accordingly  Wolfe  acquiesced.  He 
knew  now,  by  the  arrival  of  Amherst’s  first  messenger, 
that  whatever  v7as  to  be  done  must  be  done  by  himself, 
and  he  wTas  strengthened  probably  in  his  resolve  by  in- 
formation from  those  in  command  of  the  fleet,  that  they 
dared  not  much  longer  brave  the  approaching  stormy 
season.  He  would  have  been  more  cheerful  had  he 
known  the  realities  of  the  situation  and  the  despair  of 
the  French,  their  scanty  supplies  threatened  by  his 
movements  up  the  river,  their  undisciplined  levies  fright- 
ened and  deserting  in  hundreds,  and  Levis  absent  in 
Montreal  with  eight  hundred  men  to  prevent  Amherst, 
the  expected  foe,  from  seizing  the  fortifications  of  the 
valley  above  Montreal. 


CHAPTER  virr 


THE  PLAINS  OF  ABRAHAM— 1759-1760 

Movement  of  the  English — French  Precaution— Feints  and  Alarms 
— Wolfe's  Preparations  for  Landing — His  Presentiment  of  Death 
— Wolfe’s  Cove  and  the  Heights  of  Abraham — Preparations  for 
Battle — The  French  Unready — Montcalm  Bewildered — The 
Battle — Death  of  the  two  Leaders — Surrender  of  Quebec — 
Operations  during  the  Winter — Ste.  Foy — Relief  of  Quebec  by 
the  English  Fleet — Canada  Conquered. 

The  prospect  of  action  revived  Wolfe’s  failing  powers 
for  a time.  “ To  be  without  pain  for  a few  days  and 
able  to  do  my  duty,”  such  was  his  desire.  On 

J ^ Movement 

August  31st  he  was  able  to  be  abroad  once  of  the  Eng- 
more,  and  once  again,  as  of  old,  lie  passed 
from  post  to  post  rallying  the  ebbing  spirits  of  his  men. 
On  September  3d  began  the  evacuation  of  the  fortified 
camp  above  the  Montmorency,  a difficult  feat,  only  ac- 
complished by  a feigned  attack  on  Beaufort  which  drew 
off  the  enemy  from  his  rear  ; on  the  fourth  the  stores 
were  safely  floated  up  the  current.  Brigadier  Murray, 
with  four  battalions,  forced  his  way  under  the  fire  of 
batteries  on  the  opposite  side,  farther  up  the  south  shore 
than  the  English  had  yet  gone,  beyond  the  Etcliemins 
River  ; next  day  three  battalions  followed  under  Monck- 
ton  and  Townshend,  and  that  night  the  entire  body  of 
men  were  safely  embarked  on  the  vessels  of  Holmes’s 
squadron  with  Wolfe  himself  in  command. 

The  movement  was  not  unknown,  of  course,  to  the 


90  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


enemy,  but  they  believed  it  was  preliminary  to  the  em- 
barkation of  the  whole  army  and  the  departure  of  the 
French  pre-  ^eek  Nevertheless  their  vigilance  was  not 
caution,  relaxed.  The  steep  sides  of  the  plains  above 
the  city  seemed  unsurmountable,  but  at  every  little  cove 
a force  was  set  in  extraordinary  precaution.  The  shores 
farther  up  were  less  inaccessible,  and  larger  bodies  of 
troops  under  Bougainville  were  sent  to  guard  the  places 
where  attack  was  therefore  more  possible.  Montcalm, 
with  the  residue  of  his  men,  who  were  a motley  assem- 
blage which  neither  he  nor  his  enemies  would  dignify  by 
the  name  of  army,  confronted  Saunders  behind  the  old 
earthworks  of  Beaufort. 

Immediately  the  plan  adopted  by  Wolfe  began  to  un- 
fold. An  attack  was  made  on  September  7th,  at  Cape 
Feints  and  H°uge>  but  it  was  only  to  excite  and  mislead 
alarms.  pjg  opponents.  For  the  next  five  days  the 
entire  fleet  passed  backward  and  forward  on  the  tide  op- 
posite the  plateau  which  stretched  between  that  point  and 
Quebec,  as  if  ready  at  any  moment  to  detach  a landing 
party.  The  French  dashed  hither  and  thither  by  land  to 
forefend  a surprise,  and  thus  exhausted  their  strength. 
Although  they  were  untrained  men,  many  of  them  but 
“ disorderly  peasantry,”  they  yet  outnumbered  Wolfe’s 
army  two  to  one,  including  the  reinforcement  of  twelve 
hundred  which  was  coming  up  under  Burton  from  Point 
Levy. 

On  the  twelfth  the  climax  was  to  come.  With  his 
acute  mind  and  keen  eyesight,  Wolfe  had  discerned 
Wolfe’s  neither  friend  nor  enemy  suspected, 

preparations  that  it  was  feasible  not  merely  to  scale  the 
heights  higher  up  but  those  of  Abraham  near 
the  city  and  surprise  the  foe.  While  reconnoitring  he 
had  found  and  chosen  as  his  landing  the  little  cove,  since 
known  by  his  name,  from  which  a zigzag  path  on  which 


THE  PLAINS  OF  ABRAHAM 


91 


but  two  men  could  climb  abreast  wound  to  the  top. 
He  had  fortunately  learned  that  French  supply-boats 
were  ordered  to  pass  down  in  the  darkness  under  the 
north  shore  that  very  night.  Accordingly  the  fleet  as 
usual  floated  above  Cape  Rouge,  and  although  boats 
for  the  leaders  of  the  desperate  enterprise  were  lowered 
in  full  sight  of  the  French,  Bougainville  thought  nothing 
of  it,  expecting  a repetition  of  the  usual  barren  events  of 
the  past  few  days.  It  so  happened  also  that  the  com- 
manders on  the  plains  above  had  carelessly  given  fur- 
lough to  a considerable  number  of  their  scanty  force,  and 
that  a Guienne  regiment,  which  was  to  have  encamped 
there,  had  inexplicably  remained  in  its  old  quarters  on 
the  St.  Charles  River.  Down  below  Admiral  Saunders 
showed  an  ostentatious  activity  in  taking  soundings 
off  Beaufort  and  in  other  meaningless  preparations  for 
attack,  which  completely  deceived  Montcalm. 

As  the  evening  hours  slowly  passed,  Wolfe  proceeded 
from  ship  to  ship  to  assure  himself  that  everything  was 
ready,  and  to  inspire  his  troops  with  courage.  _ 

1 1 ° His  present- 

A presentiment  of  death  had  overpowered  iment  of 

-*■  death. 

him.  Before  leaving  the  cabin  of  the  flag- 
vessel  he  had  given  to  his  friend  and  schoolmate,  Jervis, 
a miniature  of  his  affianced  bride,  Miss  Lowther,  and  a 
farewell  message.  In  the  boat,  during  one  of  the  inter- 
vals of  inspection,  he  spoke  of  Gray’s  Elegy,  quoting  with 
deep  pathos  the  verse  : 

“ The  boast  of  heraldry,  the  pomp  of  power, 

And  all  that  beauty,  all  that  wealth  e'er  gave, 

Await  alike  the  inexorable  hour. 

The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave.” 

It  needs  little  imagination  to  realize  the  solemnity 
with  which  he  repeated  the  last  line.  According  to  the 
midshipman  who  was  present  and  told  the  touching 


92  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  TIIE  REVOLUTION 


story,  he  said  he  would  rather  have  written  that  poem 
than  take  Quebec  on  the  morrow.  It  has  been  suggested 
by  his  greatest  historian  that  perhaps  the  hero  is  greater 
even  than  the  poet. 

Toward  two  in  the  morning  the  tide  turned,  and  as  the 
ships  began  to  move  down  stream  the  signal  was  given 
Wolfe’s  Cove  anc^  the  boats  were  made  ready.  Soon  the 
Heights  ho1  advance  left  the  fleet  behind  and  moved  more 
Abraham.  swiftly  under  the  north  shore,  the  larger  ves- 
sels following.  Sentries  hailed  from  the  strand,  but  were 
deceived  into  a belief  that  the  French  supply-boats 
were  passing.  Soon  the  appointed  bay  was  reached,  but 
in  the  darkness  the  rowers  grounded  their  prows  a little 
below.  Through  the  steep,  pathless  forest  the  vanguard 
climbed  noiselessly,  others  following  by  the  path,  which 
had  to  be  cleared  of  obstructions,  and  some  even  farther 
up  the  stream  by  ravines  and  water-courses.  So  precipi- 
tous was  the  hill  that  going  was  possible  only  on  hands 
and  knees.  At  length  the  top  was  reached.  Quickly  the 
weakened  posts  were  seized,  and  as  the  firing  of  muskets 
gave  the  expected  signal  to  the  forces  who  were  now 
waiting  below  on  the  narrow  beach,  the  swarms  of  men 
began  first  to  clamber  and  then  more  regularly  to  move 
up  the  path.  The  roads  and  outposts  above  having  been 
seized  by  the  volunteer  adventurers,  there  was  no  resist- 
ance, and  in  the  dawn  Wolfe  with  his  five  thousand  men 
stood  safely  on  the  long-expected  field  where  the  enemy 
must  fight  or  surrender,  within  a mile  of  the  prize  to 
which  he  was  pressing  on. 

The  surprise  was  successful  and  complete,  but  the  dan- 
ger was  immediate  and  great  ; on  one  side  Quebec  and 
Preparations  Montcalm,  on  the  other  Bougainville  and  his 

for  battle,  troops.  A hasty  examination  showed  the 
most  advantageous  ground  to  be  a narrow  plateau,  know© 
as  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  somewhat  higher  than  the  up- 


THE  PLAINS  OF  ABRAHAM 


93 


land  on  which  they  stand.  It  was  really  a portion  of  the 
level  on  which  upper  Quebec  stood.  To  the  north  were 
the  abrupt  steeps  falling  to  the  meadows  of  the  St. 
Charles,  to  the  south  the  cliffs  just  scaled,  the  width  was 
about  a mile,  and  the  English  forces  in  proper  array  for- 
fighting  could  not  reach  across  when  the  right  wing 
rested  on  the  brow  toward  the  St.  Lawrence.  At  the 
other  end,  therefore,  a flanking  party  was  set  perpendicu- 
lar to  the  rest  and  facing  the  north.  In  the  main  line 
were  about  thirty-two  hundred  men,  the  remainder,  some 
sixteen  hundred  in  all,  were  divided  between  the  left 
flank,  the  guard  of  the  landing-place,  and  the  reserve. 
Two  field-pieces  had  been  dragged  up  from  the  cove. 

All  night  long  the  guns  of  Saunders’s  fleet  had  thun- 
dered while  his  boats  had  skirted  the  shore  as  if  to  land. 
Montcalm  had  been  thoroughly  deceived,  and  Thc  French 
was  not  disabused  until  in  the  early  dawn  he  unready, 
heard  the  artillery  of  his  southern  outposts  just  before 
their  capture.  After  waiting  in  vain  for  an  explanation, 
he  set  out  on  horseback  to  discover  the  cause.  At  the 
bridge  of  the  St.  Charles  the  close  red  ranks  of  the  Eng- 
lish became  visible.  An  adjutant  was  quickly  despatched 
for  troops.  The  Guienne  regiment  had  come  up  in  the 
dawn,  it  was  soon  reinforced  by  other  regulars  as  w ell 
trained  as  itself,  but  all  told  they  numbered  less  than  two 
thousand.  Intermixed  with  them  were  about  twenty-five 
hundred  more,  Indians  and  Canadian  militia.  Others 
were  expected,  but  Vaudreuil  retained  them,  still  fearing 
an  attack  by  the  apparently  wratchful  and  busy  fleet,  and 
Ramesay,  the  commander  of  the  garrison,  refused  both 
men  and  cannon  on  the  plea  of  defending  himself.  At 
last  three  guns  were  extorted  from  him. 

Capable,  vigilant,  and  indefatigable  as  he  had  ever 
been,  Montcalm  was  stunned.  His  subordinates,  with 
criminal  neglect,  had  virtually  forfeited  the  natural 


94  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


strength  of  their  position  in  the  desperate  game.  His 
well-considered  plan  of  delay,  long  and  carefully  carried 
Montcalm  be-  out,  was  in  a moment  overthrown.  Where 
wiidered.  pe  expected  at  the  most  “ a small  party  come 
to  burn  a few  houses  and  retire,”  stood  an  army  of 
veterans.  Corruption,  selfishness,  and  incapacity  en- 
vironed him.  For  a time  his  auxiliaries  harassed  the 
English  by  the  familiar  tactics  of  bush  fighting,  and  the 
cannon  did  serious  execution.  He  might  have  postponed 
an  action  until  the  forces  from  Cape  Rouge  could  mate 
an  attack  in  the  rear.  But  he  was  overpowered  by  the 
unexpected  crisis  and  emphasized  the  possibility  of  an 
English  fortification  which  could  repel  Bougainville  and 
cut  off  all  the  supplies  of  his  army.  Yielding  to  the  pas- 
sionate ardor  of  his  men,  he  at  last  gave  the  fatal  order 
toward  ten  o’clock  of  the  cloudy,  rainy  morning. 

The  British  had  waited  during  these  trying  and  seem- 
ingly interminable  hours  with  the  calmness  and  self-con- 
trol to  be  expected  of  veterans.  Wolfe  was 

The  battle. 

everywhere,  encouraging,  soothing,  ordering. 
As  the  French  came  on,  his  little  battery  opened  fire. 
Their  evident  aim  was  to  flank  and  drive  the  columns 
back  over  the  precipice.  The  onset  was  impetuous  but 
irregular,  and  the  English  reserved  their  fire.  The  slow 
moments  passed  and  but  forty  paces  separated  the  lines. 
At  the  centre  the  quick  order,  the  simultaneous  volley 
thrice  repeated,  the  groans  of  killed  and  wounded,  the 
charge  and  rout,  followed  in  the  swift  succession  of  but  a 
few  minutes.  On  the  right  the  general  himself  led. 
Owing  to  fences  and  cornfields  his  ranks  were  broken 
and  the  charge  less  impetuous,  but  there,  as  all  along  the 
line,  the  rout  of  the  French  was  complete. 

Amid  the  awful  clash  death  overtook  the  two  conspicu- 
ous figures  of  the  hour.  WTolfe  was  wounded  in  the 
charge,  twice  as  he  pressed  on  and  the  third  time  fatally, 


THE  PLAINS  OF  ABRAHAM 


95 


when  he  fell  and  was  carried  by  his  own  orders  to  the  rear, 
anxious  lest  the  forces  should  be  discouraged  by  his  fall. 
Knowing  he  would  die  surgical  assistance  Death  of  the 
was  refused,  but  at  the  cry  “They  run  ; see  twoleaders- 
how  they  run  ! ” he  rallied  to  ask  “ Who  run  ? ” Hearing 
the  answer  : “ The  enemy  give  way  everywhere,”  he  roused 
himself  fully  to  the  necessary  decision.  “Go,  one  of  you, 
to  Colonel  Burton  ; tell  him  to  march  Webb’s  regiment 
down  to  Charles  Biver  and  cut  off  their  retreat  from  the 
bridge.”  Then  in  apparent  resignation,  and  with  his  last 
breath,  he  murmured  “ Now,  God  be  praised,  I die  happy.” 
Montcalm,  too,  by  a sad  coincidence  of  fate',  had  been 
once  struck  by  a musket-ball,  but  persisted  in  the  duty  of 
conducting  his  flying  squadrons  as  they  retreated  toward 
the  city  gates.  While  rallying  them  to  protect  the  other 
fugitives  he  received  a mortal  wound.  Carried  within 
the  town,  he  survived  to  hold  a council  of  war  and  write 
a letter  to  his  conquerors,  commending  his  brave  men  to 
their  clemency.  His  last  hours  were  spent  in  the  conso- 
lations of  religion,  and  he  was  buried  the  day  he  died, 
September  14th,  in  the  chapel  of  the  Ursuline  Convent. 
It  is  believed  that  the  grave  was  in  large  part  a hollow 
formed  by  the  bursting  of  a bomb.  “Valor  gave  a 
united  death,  History  a united  fame,  Posterity  a united 
monument,”  runs  the  fit  inscription  on  the  monument 
in  the  governor’s  garden  at  Quebec,  which  bears  on  one 
side  the  name  of  Wolfe  and  on  the  other  that  of  Mont- 
calm. 

On  the  eighteenth  Quebec  surrendered,  and  was  oc- 
cupied by  a British  garrison.  In  the  mournful  council 
over  which  the  French  general  presided  on  surrender  of 
the  last  day  of  his  life,  he  gave  it  as  his  opin-  Quebec, 
ion  that  the  forces  must  rally  and  fight  again,  or  there 
would  be  an  end  of  New  France.  But  the  governor  was 
a poltroon  as  well  as  a backbiter  and  defamer.  Conster- 


96  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


nation  first,  and  chaos  afterward,  so  utterly  demoralized 
the  conquered  people  that  he  lost  the  very  semblance  of 
braggadocio,  and  even  Levis  when  he  arrived  could  pro- 
duce no  order. 

That  officer’s  tenacity  was  as  great  as  his  courage, 
and  during  the  long  and  bitter  winter,  while  England, 
both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  was  ringing  with 
during  the  the  pious  hallelujahs  of  the  people  and  on 
one  with  the  premature  jubilations  of  the 
sinking  aristocracy,  he  conceived  and  prepared  a dar- 
ing and  yet  reasonable  design.  From  time  to  time 
rumors  of  attack  reached  the  incredulous  garrison,  and 
they  therefore  established  outposts  at  Ste.  Foy  in  a 
forest  five  miles  distant,  and  at  Lorette.  French  grena- 
diers, Canadians,  and  Indians  further  appeared  in  con- 
siderable numbers,  and  it  was  found  that  strong  posts 
had  been  established  at  inconvenient  points  in  the 
neighborhood.  Skirmishes,  some  of  them  serious,  were 
not  infrequent,  and  the  commander  of  Quebec,  Murray, 
a just  and  gallant  man,  became  uneasy  toward  the 
spring,  as  he  saw  disease  and  death  at  work  among 
troops  not  inured  to  such  a severe  climate.  By  April 
his  able-bodied,  serviceable  men  did  not  number  three 
thousand,  although  there  had  been  seven  thousand  in 
the  autumn  ; seven  hundred  were  dead,  the  rest  were 
victims  of  a pestilence,  scurvy,  and  dysentery. 

The  same  month  found  Levis’s  preparations  complete. 
Starting  in  boats  from  Montreal  on  the  twentieth,  with 
seven  thousand  men,  new  reinforcements 
were  added  at  every  town  on  the  way,  and  he 
appeared,  after  a wild  and  stormy  night,  on  the  twenty- 
seventh,  at  Ste.  Foy  with  a force  of  between  eight  and 
nine  thousand.  The  youthful  and  undaunted  Murray 
made  a sortie  and  drew  in  his  outposts.  Next  day  he 
resolved  to  fight,  disparate  as  the  numbers  were,  and  at 


THE  PLAINS  OF  ABRAHAM 


97 


tlie  head  of  three  thousand  men,  engaged  the  enemy  on 
the  very  ground  which  had  been  drenched  with  blood  in 
the  previous  Septembei'.  His  first  onset  was  apparently 
successful,  and  the  enemy  withdrew  to  the  shelter  of  the 
forest.  But  the  French  rallied,  and  two  desperate  strug- 
gles ensued  at  a windmill  made  famous  as  the  Mill  of 
Dumont.  In  the  first  the  English  prevailed,  but  were 
raked  by  a flanking  fire  ; in  the  second  they  were  routed. 
After  two  hours  of  unsurpassed  bravery,  they  were  finally 
overpowered  by  numbers  and  forced  to  retreat  behind 
the  city  walls.  They  lost  one  man  in  every  three,  and 
their  opponents  about  eight  hundred  in  all.  The  situa- 
tion of  Quebec  was  desperate.  At  once  the  French  drew 
up  their  sis  war  vessels  in  the  river,  and  on  shore  began 
the  lines  for  a siege.  The  fire  from  the  town  was  so  hot 
and  incessant  that  they  could  with  difficulty  mount  a 
gun.  But  undaunted  to  the  last,  their  hope  might  not 
have  been  forlorn  if  vessels  with  munitions  from  France 
had  reached  them  in  season,  as  Levis  had  prearranged. 

The  event  was  otherwise  ; it  was  not  a French,  but  an 
English  fleet,  which,  in  the  third  week  of  May  sailed  up 
the  St.  Lawrence.  It  promptly  engaged  the 
French  ships.  Their  admiral  fought  ob-  Quebec  by  the 
stinatelv  to  the  end,  but  was  captured  and  ng  s lket‘ 
his  fleet  destroyed.  Levis  awaited  the  decision  and 
then  retreated  precipitately  with  his  entire  force,  leaving 
sick,  wounded,  and  all  his  guns  to  fall  into  Murray’s 
hands.  This  was  the  real  end  of  resistance,  the  gallant 
and  ill-starred  struggle  of  New  France  was  over.  All 
Canada  below  Three  Rivers  was  lost,  for  the  inhabitants 
had  not  repeated  the  conduct  of  the  Acadians,  but  swore 
allegiance  to  Great  Britain.  There  was  nothing  left  but 
to  concentrate  farther  away  and  make  the  final  stand 
at  Montreal. 

Amherst  at  last  began  to  show  some  mettle.  Murray 
7 


98  TIIH  FRENCH  WAR  A XI)  THE  REVOLUTION 


was  to  advance  up  the  river  from  Quebec.  He  himself, 
with  his  large  force,  was  to  make  the  long  detour  by 
Canada  con-  Hake  Ontario,  and  descend  the  river  so  as  to 
quered.  Cut  off  a retreat  toward  Detroit.  Haviland 
was  to  force  the  passage  by  Isle-aux-Noix  and  the  Riche- 
lieu River,  from  which  Bourlamaque  had  retreated  to  con- 
solidate his  troops  with  those  of  Levis,  leaving  seventeen 
hundred  men  under  Bougainville.  The  last  hope  of  the 
French  was  that  the  English  expeditions  might  arrive 
separately,  and  in  that  event  they  hoped  to  defeat  each 
one  in  turn.  But  the  complicated  plan  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief was  perfectly  executed,  and  by  Sep- 
tember 7th  the  city  was  surrounded.  The  next  day  it 
surrendered.  By  Amherst’s  leniency,  honorable  but  de- 
cisive terms  were  made,  and  though  the  peace  of  Paris 
was  not  signed  until  three  years  later,  that  portion  of  the 
Seven  Years’  War  fought  in  America,  and  known  to  us  as 
one  of  the  great  turning  points  of  our  history,  was  over. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE  PEACE  OP  PARIS— 1760-1763 

Affairs  in  the  Southern  Colonies — Expedition  against  the  Cherokees 
— New  Territory  Opened  for  Settlement — Indian  Discontent — 
Revolt  of  Pontiac — Relief  of  Detroit  and  Suppression  of  the  Re- 
bellion-Naval Supremacy  of  England — The  War  Continued 
in  Germany — Death  of  George  II. — Accession  of  George  III.— 
His  Character  and  Policy — Pitt  and  Frederick  the  Great — Fall 
of  the  Ministry — Bute  and  the  New  Tories — Frederick  and 
Russia — England  and  Spain — The  Terms  of  Peace — Effect  of 
the  Seven  Years’  War  on  the  Continent — Its  Character  in 
America  and  India — Determinative  Results  in  the  American 
Colonies — Its  Relation  to  American  Nationality  and  Independ- 
ence. 

Nothing  throws  a more  interesting  light  upon  the  re- 
lations of  the  colonies  to  each  other  at  this  time,  than  the 
utter  indifference  of  the  middle  and  southern 
ones  to  the  struggle  of  those  in  the  north,  southem’coki- 
Men  from  all  New  England,  from  New  York,  nie~' 
and  from  New  Jersey  were  found  in  every  battle  of  the 
years  1759  and  1760.  From  Pennsylvania  southward 
the  interest  was  comparatively  languid,  and  after  the 
founding  of  Pittsburgh  even  Washington  retired  from  the 
army  to  take  up  the  pleasant  duties  of  a country  gentle- 
man, and  represent  the  Old  Dominion  in  her  legislature. 

The  undisturbed  quiet  of  the  south  was  only  threat- 
ened by  the  ever-arising  disputes  of  the  people  with  their 
governors,  who  sedulously  labored  for  the  maintenance 
of  such  supremacy  as  they  conceived  to  be  inherent  in 


100  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


the  crown  ancl  Parliament.  To  the  same  end  they  some- 
times meddled  with  the  petty  disputes  between  the 

frontiersmen  and  the  friendly  Indians.  In 

against  the  an  access  of  zeal  Lyttleton,  of  South  Caro- 
Cnerokees.  • i , 

Ima,  provoked  a most  ignoble  quarrel  with 
the  Cherokees,  who  had  so  far  been  proud  allies  of  Eng- 
land, and  in  1757  had  as  volunteers  protected  the  fron- 
tiers of  Georgia  and  Carolina.  The  result  was  an  em- 
bargo on  all  intercourse  with  them.  They  had  become 
so  dependent  on  the  supplies  obtained  by  barter  that 
disaffection  spread  like  a forest  fire,  and  resulted  in  ex- 
asperating recriminations  which  finally  led  to  bloodshed 
by  the  Indians,  and  violation  of  faith  by  the  whites. 

Lyttleton  set  out  with  an  expedition  of  which  both 
Christopher  Gadsden  and  Francis  Marion  were  members, 
and  awed  them  to  temporary  submission.  But  during 
the  winter  of  1759  and  1760,  the  tension  became  too 
strong,  the  savages  broke  their  word,  and  frontier  war- 
fare of  the  most  vindictive  kind  was  waged  from  the 
early  spring  onward.  Twelve  hundred  soldiers,  high- 
landers and  royal  Americans,  and  seven  hundred  pro- 
vincial rangers,  Moultrie  among  the  number,  were  united 
into  an  army  to  subdue  the  harassed  and  ill-treated 
Cherokees.  They  were  outwardly  at  least  a docile  people  ; 
their  settled  homes  and  agricultural  habits  divided  them 
by  a wide  interval  from  the  Iroquois  or  the  Delawrares. 
At  the  first  appearance  of  the  w'hite  men  they  fled.  Their 
farms  and  dwellings  were  devastated,  and  a summons 
issued  for  a council  to  settle  terms  of  peace.  But 
stunned  and  exasperated,  they  gave  no  response  and  re- 
treated westward  beyond  the  Appalachian  Mountains 
into  the  upper  valleys  of  the  Tennessee.  The  army  fol- 
lowed, fell  into  an  ambush,  but  routed  the  undisciplined 
horde  from  their  lurking  places.  Montgomery,  the  gen- 
eral, would,  however,  go  no  further,  not  even  to  Fort 


THE  PEACE  OF  PARIS 


101 


Loudon,  where  the  garrison  was  by  this  time  perishing 
of  hunger.  He  retreated  in  good  order.  Fort  Loudon 
fell  and  the  army  was  dispersed.  The  Cherokees  were 
exultant  and  the  colonies  doubly  depressed,  their  de- 
fencelessness being  in  their  minds  the  corollary  of  the 
usurpations  of  their  governors.  The  bitterness  between 
the  governor  and  army  on  one  side,  and  the  people,  whose 
sympathies  were  with  the  frontiersmen,  was  destined  to 
become  one  of  the  little  rills  which  later  united  into  the 
great  stream  of  colonial  discontent. 

The  invasion  in  itself  considered  was,  however,  a mem- 
orable fact,  for  it  opened  the  way  to  the  eventual  seizure 
of  the  Creek  and  Cherokee  lands  and  the  ex-  New  terri_ 
tension  of  English-speaking  colonization  west-  f”yB°epte“^ 
ward,  from  the  southern  as  well  as  from  the  ment 
middle  and  northern  colonies  It  was  an  immediate 
consequence  of  the  capitulation  at  Montreal  that  Rogers 
and  his  party  of  rangers  penetrated  the  western  wilder- 
ness around  the  great  lakes,  made  a truce  with  Pontiac, 
the  great  Ottawa  chieftain  who  had  united  under  his 
nominal  sway  all  the  northwestern  tribes,  and  then 
planted  the  English  standard  at  Detroit,  in  token  of 
the  occupation  of  the  whole  lake  country. 

The  regular  wTarfare  of  Europeans  was,  of  course,  at 
an  end.  But  the  Indians  were  still  to  be  reckoned  with. 
In  spite  of  the  successful  heroism  of  Christian  Frederick 
Post  under  Forbes’s  direction,  in  spite  of  the  diplomacy 
of  Johnson,  the  good-will  of  the  Algonquins  Indian  dis- 
was  but  temporary,  and  the  allegiance  of  the  content. 
Iroquois  but  partial.  The  western  frontiers  were  occu- 
pied by  the  English  and  the  posts  garrisoned,  but  dis- 
content was  not  allayed.  The  agents  of  the  English  in 
the  fur  trade  were  desperate  and  unprincipled  men,  who 
plundered  and  abused  their  savage  clients.  The  wander- 
ing bands  were  no  longer  received  at  the  stockades  of 


102  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

the  forts  with  smiles,  and  beguiled  from  their  childish 
waywardness  by  indulgence.  And  above  all,  the  various 
tribes  saw  their  lands  invaded  by  men  who,  unlike  the 
Trench,  had  the  fixed  purpose  of  permanent  settlement, 
and  fiercely  resented  either  intrusion  or  theft.  The 
agents  of  the  eai’lier  traders  were  still  numerous  in  the 
wilderness.  They  unceasingly  circulated  lying  reports 
of  French  sympathy,  and  as  the  angry  savages  began  to 
prepare  for  open  rebellion,  both  encouragement  and 
supplies  in  abundance  were  furnished  by  their  former 
friends. 

A leader  for  the  red  men  is  always  at  hand  in  times 
of  excitement,  because  with  superstitious  awe  they  at- 
Revoit  of  tribute  a supernatural  mission  and  powers 

Pontiac.  the  first  clever  fanatic  who  claims  them. 
Such  a man  was  Pontiac,  endowed  in  the  highest  degree 
with  every  quality  of  his  race — courage,  ambition,  and 
eloquence  ; passion,  inconsistency,  and  treachery.  Dur- 
ing the  two  years  succeeding  the  surrender  of  Montreal 
was  formed,  by  his  address,  a conspiracy  of  all  the  Algon- 
quins,  of  some  of  the  tribes  on  the  lower  Mississippi,  and 
of  two  of  the  Six  Nations.  Its  ramifications  embraced 
the  entire  northern  and  western  frontiers.  The  outbreak 
began  on  May  7,  1763,  by  an  attempted  seizure  of  De- 
troit ; but  the  scheme  had  been  betrayed  to  the  English 
commander  Gladwyn,  and  the  treacherous  plan  of  Pon- 
tiac was  thwarted.  A formal  siege  was  opened  two  days 
later,  and  a fitful  and  murderous  warfare  began  all  along 
the  line.  Within  a fortnight  Fort  Sandusky  fell  ; ten 
days  later  Fort  St.  Joseph,  near  the  head  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan, was  surprised  ; early  in  June  Michilimackinac,  on  the 
upper  lakes,  was  seized,  and  the  garrison  murdered.  In 
quick  succession  Ou^tanon,  on  the  Wabash  ; Fort  Miami, 
on  the  Maumee  ; Presqu’  Isle,  on  the  site  of  the  city  of 
Erie,  with  its  outposts  Venango  and  Leboeuf,  making  the 


THE  PEACE  OF  PARIS 


103 


line  to  Fort  Pitt,  all  fell  into  Indian  bands,  and  the  great 
fort  at  the  bead  of  tbe  Obio  was  itself  besieged.  In  fact, 
of  all  tbe  vast  acquisitions  west  of  tbe  settlements,  tbe 
posts  of  Detroit,  Niagara,  and  Fort  Pitt  alone  remained 
in  English  bands. 

But  savage  fury  soon  consumes  itself.  Tbe  pioneers 
suffered  intensely  under  repeated  and  furious  onslaughts, 
but  they  fought  with  desperation,  and  where  Relief  of  De- 
a fan-  field  was  given,  as  at  Ligonier,  Carlisle,  ^^fonJtSe 
and  Bedford,  their  foes  were  frightened  or  rebe-ll0n- 
beaten  off.  In  July  Bouquet,  after  a masterly  march  and 
a well-fought  battle  at  Busby  Run,  relieved  Fort  Pitt. 
Pontiac,  with  a constancy  unprecedented  in  Indian  an- 
nals, beleaguered  Fort  Detroit  until  September,  when  a 
vessel  despatched  from  Niagara  arrived  with  help.  Tbe 
conflicts  under  tbe  walls  of  tbe  fortification  bad  been 
bloody  and  exhausting  ; tbe  Indians,  though  on  the  whole 
victorious,  now  asked  for  peace,  and  in  tbe  late  autumn 
Pontiac  and  bis  people  withdrew.  Tbe  rebellion  was 
broken  and  virtually  ended  with  tbe  arrival  of  winter. 
Tbe  next  two  years  were  occupied  with  tbe  pacification 
of  tbe  tribes.  Pontiac  made  another  rally  to  seize  tbe 
Illinois  country  during  1765,  but  failed,  and  tbe  English 
definitely  occupied  it.  Tbe  whole  episode  is  memorable 
for  tbe  sufferings  and  consequent  exasperation  of  tbe 
frontiersmen.  Too  often  they  retaliated  in  tbe  succeed- 
ing years  by  acts  of  barbarity  and  a policy  of  deceit.  A 
century  and  a quarter  has  not  diminished  tbe  intensity 
of  hatred  between  English  white  men  and  tbe  descend- 
ants of  Pontiac’s  rebels. 

In  tbe  perspective  of  history  it  appears  as  if  England 
no  longer  bad  a reason  for  wrar  ; as  if  she  should  have 
urged  and  brought  to  a speedy  conclusion  tbe  desultory 
negotiations  for  peace  which  began  in  1759.  She  bad 
conquered  everything  in  America  and  tbe  West  Indies 


104  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


which  France  possessed,  except  a few  islands  and  her 
claims  to  the  shadowy  land  of  Louisiana  beyond  the 
Mississippi.  In  the  other  hemisphere  Clive 

ft  V 3*  1 8U" 

premacy  of  had  retaken  Calcutta,  overwhelmed  Surajah 
Lag, and.  Dowlali  in  the  battle  of  Plassey  and  won  Ben- 
gal  ; Coote  had  defeated  Lally  at  Wandewash,  and  the  pos- 
sibility of  French  ascendency,  or  even  equality,  in  India 
was  forever  ended  by  the  occupancy  of  Madras.  In  all 
quarters  of  the  globe  the  navy  of  Great  Britain  was 
again  supreme.  There  was  also  a most  urgent  reason 
for  peace  in  the  situation  of  Frederick  the  Great.  But 
the  nation  was  ecstatic  over  its  successes,  and  Pitt  avowed 
that  he  desired  not  merely  to  humiliate  but  to  exhaust 
the  French.  During  the  year  1760,  therefore,  nothing 
was  done.  The  occupation  of  the  quidnuncs  was  to  dis- 
cuss what  England  should  keep  and  what  she  should 
surrender  at  the  peace,  a powerful  party  contending 
for  retaining  Guadaloupe,  the  more  enlightened  explain- 
ing that  the  West  India  trade  was  at  a standstill,  while 
the  North  Americans  were  doubling  in  numbers  every 
twenty-five  years  ; that,  freed  from  fear  of  Canada,  they 
would  spread  over  the  whole  continent,  confine  them- 
selves to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  furnish  an  unlimited 
market  for  the  manufactures  of  the  motherland.  Colo- 
nial affairs  being  under  the  Board  of  Trade,  the  Lords 
in  that  body  could  unify  their  administration  and  indef- 
initely expand  industrial  prosperity  at  home. 

In  Germany  the  bloody  and  useless  war  went  on. 
Ferdinand  with  his  Anglo-German  army  kept  the  French, 
under  Broglie,  inactive  throughout  the  year. 
tmuecUn  Ger-  Iu  June  the  Austrians,  under  Laudon,  de- 
many  feated  the  Prussians,  under  Fouque  ; in  Au- 

gust they  were  beaten  in  turn  at  Liegnitz  by  Frederick, 
who  prevented  the  union  of  the  Austrians  and  Russians. 
But  the  latter  surprised  Berlin  in  October,  and  destroyed 


THE  PEACE  OF  PAEIS 


105 


a large  portion  of  it  by  fire.  In  November  Frederick 
won  another  bloody  and  fruitless  victory  over  the  Aus- 
trians at  Torgau,  and  from  his  camp  at  Bunzelwitz  defied 
both  Austrians  and  Russians.  He  was  desperate  and  dis- 
heartened, gray-haired  and  wrinkled  with  premature  old 
age,  for  an  event  of  awful  significance  not  only  to  him 
but  to  the  world  had  taken  place. 

George  H.  died  on  October  25,  1760,  and  his  grand- 
son, George  HI.,  ascended  the  throne.  During  the  long 
reign  of  thirty-three  years  which  thus  came  Death  of 
to  a close  England  had  seen  two  brilliant  George  n. 
phases  of  her  history — a period  of  peaceful  prosperity,  a 
time  of  unequalled  military  success.  The  Crown  as  a 
political  factor  had  been  quiescent,  the  Whig  aristocracy 
had  done  its  work,  and  the  people,  under  Pitt,  had  as- 
serted itself  in  spite  of  constitutional  limitations. 

There  had  always  been  strong  opposition  to  the  Ger- 
man war  on  the  part  of  those  who  disliked  the  attachment 
of  the  English  kings  for  their  Hanoverian  Accession  of 
possessions.  It  was  heightened  by  the  enor-  Gcorge  m' 
mous  cost  to  the  taxpayers  involved  in  Pitt’s  subsidies. 
The  new  king  was  a youth  of  twenty-two,  with  a fine 
figure  and  an  engaging  expression  in  his  handsome 
face.  He  had  been  the  pupil  of  his  clever  mother,  and 
she  had  thoroughly  engrafted  into  his  slow,  tenacious 
mind  two  lessons  — to  be  an  Englishman  and  to  be  a 
king.  The  former  meant  the  abandonment  of  the  Han- 
overian policy,  the  latter  the  breaking  down  of  aristo- 
cratic Whig  rule  by  means  of  a cabinet  and  a responsible 
chief.  Accordingly,  the  first  words  addressed  to  his 
subjects  were  such  as  his  two  predecessors  could  not 
have  used  : “ Bom  and  educated  in  this  country,  I glory 
in  the  name  of  Briton.”  And  at  once  four  changes  were 
made  in  the  cabinet.  Newcastle  was  summoned  as  being 
the  head,  and  Lord  Bute,  destined  to  be  the  royal  Men- 


106  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


tor,  was  made  Secretary  of  State,  the  others  were  not  of 
importance.  Pitt  acquiesced,  but  he  had  not  been  con- 
sulted. 

Superficially  it  appeared  as  if  the  accession  of  a “ pa- 
triot king  ” had  brought  in  an  era  of  good  feeling.  The 
His  character  Jacobites  came  flocking  back  to  court,  and 
and  policy.  many  Qf  them  were  appointed  to  important 
offices.  The  king  was  neither  licentious  nor  unprin- 
cipled,  his  personal  character  might  even  be  called 
good.  Though  often  compared  with  James  II.  for 
narrow-mindedness  and  obstinacy,  yet  it  would  be  un- 
safe to  describe  him  as  mediocre.  Conceited  medi- 
ocrity often  courts  real  greatness  in  others,  and  draws 
powerful  minds  into  the  sphere  of  its  influence.  But 
George  III.  had  an  instinctive  abhorrence  of  ability 
either  in  life  or  letters.  His  education  was  so  deficient 
as  to  be  contemptible.  He  thought  the  masterpieces  of 
English  literature  “stuff,”  and  had  a jealous  aversion  for 
every  strong  man.  He  described  himself  as  a Whig 
of  the  Revolution,  but  he  had  been  formed  by  the 
maxims  of  Bolingbroke  and  hated  Pitt  even  when  dead, 
for  a proposal  to  erect  a monument  to  the  great  man 
was  felt  to  be  a personal  insult.  Surrounded  by  the 
same  cringing  servility  which  the  Stewart  kings  had 
exacted,  obstinately  determined  to  rule  as  well  as  reign, 
unmindful  or  ignorant  of  the  development  of  the  con- 
stitution since  Sunderland’s  time,  appreciating  at  its 
full  value  the  power  of  appointment  in  the  church  and 
army,  and  to  many  important  civil  offices  in  the  court 
and  government,  he  soon  surrounded  himself  by  a fac- 
tion. The  “king’s  friends  ” were  not  a party,  but  bound 
only  by  the  tie  of  royal  favor  they  blindly  did  his  bid- 
ding. Their  power  was  the  more  pernicious  because 
the  Wliigs  were  rent  by  internal  dissension,  and  repre- 
sentation was  so  corrupt,  jobbery  in  Parliament  seats  so 


TIIE  PEACE  OF  PARIS 


107 


rife,  that  the  best  sentiment  of  the  country  was  against 
them.  They  could  therefore  fall  an  easy  prey  to  the 
king  and  his  men.  Their  policy,  moreover,  had  always 
been  nominally  for  peace,  and  now  they  were  so  ex- 
asperated by  Pitt’s  constant  demands  for  the  support  of 
the  war  that  they  might  desert  him  at  any  moment. 
George  understood  the  strength  of  the  royal  prerogative 
behind  such  intrenchments,  in  the  face  of  such  foes. 

The  resources  of  Prussia  were  apparently  exhausted, 
and  even  with  Pitt’s  munificent  subsidy  Frederick  was 
hardly  able  to  secure  the  absolute  necessaries  pm  and 
of  warfare.  The  dogged  persistency  of  his  ™ricktUe 
foes  had  the  support  of  both  numbers  and 
wealth,  so  that  they  reappeared  with  undiminished 
strength  after  blows  which  would  have  prostrated  an 
enemy  of  equal  resources.  And  now  the  continuance  of 
the  subsidy  was  improbable.  Nothing  short  of  an  in- 
tervention of  Providence  could  tide  Prussia  over  such  a 
crisis.  It  is  true  that  France  also  was  exhausted.  Choi- 
seul  was  the  minister  of  state,  and  with  all  his  ability 
he  could  not  be,  and  was  not,  the  creature  of  Madame 
de  Pompadour,  who  had  once  been*  the  mistress  of  Lewis 
NY.,  but  was  now  the  pander  to  his  senile  lust  and 
sought  thereby  to  secure  the  mastery  of  the  kingdom. 
Her  bitterness  toward  Frederick  was  intense,  and  men 
long  believed  it  was  the  continuation  of  her  policy  when 
peace  was  proposed  if  England  would  abandon  his 
cause.  The  offer  really  sprang  from  Choiseul’s  insight 
that  Prussia  might  one  day  rival  France.  It  was  in- 
dignantly rejected  by  Pitt.  The  peace  party  among  the 
"Whigs  affected  great  displeasure.  But  Pitt,  nothing 
daunted,  assumed  an  attitude  even  more  warlike.  The 
conflict  with  France  became  hotter  than  before  ; Iveppel 
and  Hodgson  seized  Belleisle,  off  Brittany,  in  order  that 
when  driven  to  a peace  France  might  gladly  accept  it  as 


108  THE  FRENCH  FAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


an  offset  to  Minorca.  Dominica,  in  the  West  Indies,  was 
likewise  seized,  and  Pondicherry,  the  last  important  hold 
of  the  French  in  India,  was  captured.  But  such  was  the 
spite  of  his  mistress  against  the  Prussian  king  that  still 
Choiseul  could  not  yield. 

At  this  juncture  the  notorious  family  compact  was 
proposed  by  Charles  m.,  of  Spain,  who  regarded  the 
Fail  of  the  French  Bourbons  as  holding  the  leadership  of 

ministry.  tpe  family.  Spain  was  to  support  a peace  if 
made.  In  return  she  expected  the  concession  of  Minorca 
from  England.  But  there  were  also  secret  articles  con- 
cluding an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance.  The  third 
Bourbon  prince,  the  King  of  Naples,  also  adhered  to 
both  parts.  The  respective  possessions  of  all  the  Bour- 
bon powers  were  mutually  guaranteed.  Pitt  haughtily 
rejected  any  indirect  negotiation  with  France  through 
Spain,  and  proposed  the  seizure  of  the  Spanish  treasure- 
fleet  now  on  its  way  from  the  Indies,  the  occupation  of 
Panama,  and  a general  attack  on  the  Spanish  possessions 
in  America.  Such  noble  daring  seemed  madness  to  the 
jealous  minds  of  his  timid  colleagues.  He  found  but 
one  supporter  in  the  cabinet,  his  relative,  Temple.  On 
October  6th,  1761,  the  king  received  the  resignation  of 
that  famous  ministry  which  had  carried  England’s  fame 
to  greater  heights  than  it  ever  before  had  reached.  Eng- 
lishmen had  permanently  girdled  the  globe  with  English 
civilization,  and  opened  boundless  avenues  to  English 
enterprise.  The  Newcastle  cabinet,  of  which  Pitt  was 
the  soul,  had  been  less  than  five  years  in  existence. 

The  king  had  no  small  share  in  this  fall.  He  had 
manipulated  the  elections  so  as  to  diminish  Newcastle’s 
Bute  and  the  influence,  while  urging  Newcastle  to  what  was 
new  Tories.  rea]ly  insubordination  under  the  guise  of  self- 
assertion  as  the  premier.  He  now  turned  on  the  pa- 
trician leader  with  direct  insults  and  forced  him  to  re- 


THE  PEACE  OF  TAPIS 


109 


sign.  Power  was  delegated  to  Bute  on  May  29th,  1762, 
and  once  again,  after  a century  and  three-quarters,  the 
dominant  influence  in  court  and  Parliament  was  Ja- 
cobite in  every  element  except  that  it  did  not  adhere  to 
the  extinct  line.  The  Tories  of  1762  were  in  reality  a 
faction  as  unconstitutional  in  its  methods  and  aims  as 
the  Boyalists  of  the  Restoration  had  been.  The  populace 
of  London  hailed  Pitt  with  sincere  and  noisy  enthusiasm 
as  he  drove  through  their  streets  ; elsewhere,  too,  his 
support  was  stanch  even  in  opposition.  But  the  fickle 
element  among  the  people  felt  the  timidity  of  their  early 
leaders,  and  the  king,  who  was  eager  to  begin  his  work  of 
restoring  the  prerogative,  earnestly  desired  peace.  The 
subsidies  to  Frederick  were  at  once  withdrawn,  and  in 
the  spring  of  1762  his  masterly  inactivity  of  1761  ap- 
peared merely  to  have  postponed  the  inevitable  ruin. 

But  deliverance  came.  The  Empress  Elizabeth  died, 
and  her  nephew,  Peter  III.,  came  to  the  throne.  To  this 
young  and  ardent  enthusiast  Frederick  was  Frederick  and 
a hero,  and  Russia  became  a friend.  In  less  Russia, 
than  half  a year,  however,  the  court  intrigue  of  Peters- 
burg cut  short  the  career  of  the  new  Czar,  and  he  was 
succeeded  by  his  wife  Catherine.  She  was  a self-styled 
philosopher  and  reformer,  in  reality  a woman  of  the 
highest  intellectual  and  practical  abilities,  but  a desper- 
ate wanton  in  her  private  life.  She  was  no  friend  to  the 
king  of  Prussia,  and  recalled  from  his  army  the  troops 
her  husband  had  furnished  him  ; but  she  was  willing  to 
remain  indifferent.  Frederick’s  sharp  tongue  had  made 
enough  powerful  foes.  He  bridled  it  and  spoke  her  fair  ; 
Russia,  though  not  an  ally,  was  at  least  no  longer  an 
enemy.  Two  victories  of  importance  were  won  in  1762. 
The  preliminaries  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  foreshadowed 
a withdrawal  of  the  French  armies.  Peace  with  Russia, 
Sweden,  and  Austria  followed  ere  long,  and  though  the 


110  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


new  English  ministry  had  offered  Silesia  to  Austria 
and  East  Prussia  to  Russia  by  the  treaty  of  Huberts- 
burg,  Prussia  kept  every  inch  of  territory  which  she  had 
gained. 

Pitt’s  fall  having  been  accomplished,  the  king,  with  a 
certain  compensatory  grace,  offered  him  the  choice  be- 
Enf'iand  and  tween  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster  with  live  thou- 
Spa,n.  san(i  pounds  a year,  and  the  governorship  of 
Canada,  without  residence,  and  the  same  honorarium. 
The  great  commoner  wisely  refused  anything  for  himself, 
but  accepted  for  his  wife  the  title  of  Baroness  Chatham, 
with  three  thousand  pounds  a year  for  the  lives  of  him- 
self, his  wife,  and  their  oldest  son.  He  may  well  have  felt 
some  complacency  in  the  conditions  of  his  opposition. 
He  had  still  a strong  following  of  the  better  Whigs, 
and  his  sagacity  in  what  had  been  thought  a chimerical 
scheme  of  war  with  Spain  was  soon  proven.  No  sooner 
was  the  Spanish  treasure-fleet  safe  in  harbor,  some  three 
weeks  after  his  resignation,  than,  in  accordance  with  the 
secret  terms  of  the  family  compact  which  he  had  divined, 
Charles  took  the  initiative  himself,  and  in  1762  declared 
war  on  England.  Her  retort  was  a counter-declaration 
and  the  speedy  capture,  according  to  Pitt’s  rejected  plans, 
of  Cuba,  Manilla,  and  the  Philippine  Islands.  Portugal 
at  first  remained  neutral ; but  in  the  face  of  Spanish 
threats  and  actual  invasion  she  applied  to  England  for  as- 
sistance, which  even  Bute,  who  was  now  in  power,  could 
not  refuse,  at  least  temporarily.  If  the  tide  of  success 
were  to  flow  on  it  was  certain  that  Pitt  would  return  to 
power  ; the  nation  seemed  not  to  care  in  the  least  that 
he  had  increased  the  public  debt  to  one  hundred  and 
thirty-six  million  pounds  by  his  lavish  expenditures  ; 
their  victories  terrified  the  ministry  more  than  defeats 
would  have  done,  and  they  felt  that  peace  must  be  made 
at  every  hazard. 


THE  PEACE  OF  PARIS 


111 


Negotiations  were  opened  with  France,  whose  depleted 
treasury  made  her  glad  to  treat.  The  old  machinery  of 
bribery  and  menace  was  set  to  work  in  the  The  terms  of 
House  of  Commons  to  secure  a majority,  and  peace, 
when  all  was  ready  the  surprisingly  moderate  terms  of 
the  Peace  of  Palis  were  announced.  England  was  to 
leave  France  a share  in  the  fisheries  of  Newfoundland 
and  the  St.  Lawrence,  with  the  islets  of  St.  Pierre  and 
Miquelon,  to  return  Guadaloupe,  Martinique,  and  St. 
Lucia.  Cuba  and  the  Manillas  went  to  Spain.  She  was 
to  keep  Tobago,  Dominica,  St.  Vincent,  and  Grenada  ; 
Canada,  Nova  Scotia,  Cape  Breton,  and  all  French  pos- 
sessions in  America  east  of  the  Mississippi,  except  New 
Orleans,  were  surrendered  to  her.  She  was  to  exchange 
Belleisle  for  Minorca,  and  Spain  was  to  cede  Florida 
for  Cuba  and  the  Philippines.  France,  further  aban- 
doned all  right  to  a military  settlement  in  India,  evacu- 
ated both  the  Hanoverian  territory  and  Prussian  forts 
which  she  held,  and  by  a separate  secret  agreement  com- 
pensated Spain  for  the  loss  of  Florida  in  the  gift  to  her 
of  all  Louisiana,  which  stretched  away  with  indefinite 
boundaries  to  the  Pacific.  The  stipulations  were  very 
favorable  to  England,  but  the  annihilation  of  French 
prestige,  to  which  Pitt  had  looked  forward,  and  to  which 
English  victories  had  entitled  the  nation,  was  not  se- 
cured. The  nation  as  a whole  was  opposed  to  the  terms, 
but  Parliament  had  been  secured  for  Bute  and  Grenville. 
The  preliminaries  were  laid  before  both  houses  on  De- 
cember 9th,  1762.  Pitt,  suffering  from  gout  and  carried 
to  his  seat  by  attendants,  made  a somewhat  theatrical  ap- 
pearance in  the  lower  one  to  oppose  the  fisheries  clause, 
and  anything  which  looked  to  a possible  restoration  of 
French  maritime  power.  But  all  opposition  was  vain, 
and  the  treaty  was  concluded  at  Paris  on  February  10th, 
1763. 


112  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


The  Seven  Years'  War  had  changed  the  face  of  Euro- 
pean politics.  Prussia,  though  spent  and  gasping,  kept 
Effect  of  the  her  acquisitions  of  territory,  and  the  process 
fvITon  The  of  German  aggrandizement  which  ended  at 
continent.  Sedan  had  begun  at  Rossbach.  The  French 
monarchy  having  absorbed  the  religious,  social,  and  in- 
dustrial vitality  of  the  land,  had  now  exhausted  it,  and 
for  the  next  twenty-five  years  it  was  to  fight  a losing 
struggle  for  life.  The  territorial  expansion  of  England 
was  enormous.  Across  one  ocean  America  seemed  se- 
cure, in  the  Orient  the  foundations  were  laid  for  the 
Indian  Empire.  And  during  the  same  period  she  had 
a second  age  of  great  inventions,  which  was  illuminated 
by  names  like  those  of  Watt,  Wedgwood,  Arkwright,  and 
Brindley.  The  expenditure  of  energy  had  been  commen- 
surate, as  far  as  the  Continent  was  concerned,  with  the 
changes.  Money  had  been  poured  out  in  floods.  France, 
Prussia,  and  Austria  were  alike  in  the  depths  of  poverty. 
Russia  though  not  destitute,  was  ready  for  economy,  and 
the  national  debt  of  England  affrighted  timid  minds  who 
were  blind  to  the  increase  in  her  industries  and  the 
renovation  of  her  social  forces,  which  made  it  but  a 
bagatelle.  The  waste  of  life  had  been  appalling.  Fred- 
erick the  Great  estimated  that  the  total  loss  of  all  the 
contesting  powers  was  not  under  eight  hundred  and 
thirty-five  thousand  men. 

In  America  and  India,  however,  the  case  was  far  oth- 
erwise. Pitt  boasted  that  not  fifteen  hundred  English- 
T,  . , men  had  fallen  in  America  ; Clive  sustained 

in  America  a loss  of  twenty  Europeans  and  fifty-two  se- 
and  India.  J I _ , _ . 

poys  at  Plassey  ; and  Coote,  at  Wandewash, 
reported  sixty-nine  blacks  and  one  hundred  and  ninety 
whites  in  his  list  of  killed  and  wounded.  There  was  this 
differen ce,  however,  between  India  and  America.  In  the 
former  the  English  gained  an  opportunity.  They  have 


THE  PEACE  OF  PARIS 


113 


since,  to  be  sure,  successfully  and  richly  harvested  the 
possible  results.  But  in  America  their  mastery  was  com- 
plete at  the  beginning  of  the  peace. 

Estimated  in  the  light  of  subsequent  events  that  por- 
tion of  the  war  fought  in  North  America  was  by  far  the 
most  important.  At  the  beginning  of  it  the  Determina- 
colonies  rejected  the  Albany  proposition  for  [Jie  American 
union,  and  were  as  exclusive  in  their  notions  colomes- 
of  citizenship  as  the  states  of  ancient  Greece ; at  the 
close  they  were  far  from  concordant,  nor  were  they  yet 
conscious  of  a common  destiny,  but  they  had  recognized 
their  strength  in  the  great  forces  of  money  and  men 
which  they  had  raised  and  used  ; together  they  had  felt 
the  strong  hand  of  a centralized  military  power,  and  the 
continued  threats  of  parliamentary  control  alarmed  them. 
There  was,  throughout,  a vast  disparity  in  the  numbers 
engaged  on  one  side  and  the  other.  But  the  physical 
geography  of  the  continent  which  the  French  under- 
stood and  used  with  consummate  skill ; their  close,  harsh 
centralization  in  government  ; their  tact  and  unscru- 
pulousness in  dealing  with  the  savages,  more  than  coun- 
terbalanced the  superior  numbers  and  wealth  of  the 
combiued  English  and  colonial  power.  The  Indian  allies 
of  New  France  were  in  part  missionary  Indians,  nomi- 
nally converted  to  Christianity  ; but  throughout  the  war 
it  would  have  been  impossible  to  distinguish  the  prose- 
lytes from  the  heathen,  so  cruel,  savage,  and  untrustwor- 
thy were  they  all  in  the  presence  of  an  enemy.  The  In- 
dian allies  of  England  were  comprised  largely  in  the  Six 
Nations,  who  were  heathen,  but  had  a certain  nobility  of 
character,  a well-confederated  government,  and  often  in 
the  hour  of  need  were  either  lukewarm  or  neutral.  But 
the  sum  of  the  whole  matter  was  a well-defined  feeling 
on  the  part  of  the  English  colonists  that  the  red  man 
and  the  white  could  not  live  together.  At  the  beginning 
8 


114  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  TIIE  REVOLUTION 


of  the  war  free  institutions  had  been  under  the  constant 
menace  of  a French  civilization,  strong  in  refinement 
and  centralized  administration,  but  swayed  by  a govern- 
ment morally  rotten,  and  the  most  despotic  ever  seen  ; 
at  its  close  the  lower  system  of  politics  had  disappeared, 
fear  of  the  savages  was  removed,  and  the  English  in 
America  were  free  both  to  consider  their  relations  to  the 
mother-country,  and  to  study  how  their  liberties  and 
their  prosperity  were  to  find  expression  in  their  institu- 
tions. 

It  is  customary  in  the  United  States  to  consider 
Wolfe’s  victory  as  the  solstice  in  the  ecliptic  of  modem 
history,  since  it  secured  America  for  Eng- 

Its  relation  . " . ..... 

to  American  lisli  institutions,  and  American  civilization 

anci  indepen-  is  to  dominate  the  world.  Choiseul  and  Kant 
foresaw  that  the  colonies,  once  freed  from 
fear  of  France,  would  demand  an  independent  develop- 
ment. Wolfe  was  a hero,  Quebec  was  a glorious  victory, 
and  there  is  a sense  in  which  the  history  of  the  United 
States  began  on  that  day.  As  an  aid  to  memory  and 
the  imagination  let  it  so  stand.  The  demands  of  an  in- 
competent cabinet  for  aid  in  the  payment  of  the  debt 
incurred  in  the  war  ; the  development  of  party  theory 
and  spirit  among  all  Englishmen,  the  colonists  included ; 
the  meddling  mercantile  temper  of  the  time,  all  these 
may  be  thrown  into  the  scale,  yet  one  fact  will  outweigh 
them  all  — that  in  the  unity  and  continuity  of  history 
the  germ  of  distinction  between  England  in  Europe  and 
England  in  America  had  been  planted  in  the  former  long 
before,  as  early  as  the  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. Its  growth  had  been  continuous,  first  at  home  and 
then  abroad,  and  the  tree  was  already  grown  when  Wolfe 
fell  on  the  plains  of  Abraham.  No  doubt  his  victory 
cleared  the  forest  around,  and  gave  it  light  and  air.  But 
the  battle  of  Quebec,  glorious  as  it  was,  did  but  mark  a 


THE  PEACE  OF  PARIS 


115 


stage  of  growth  and  quicken  vital  forces  which  would 
have  asserted  themselves  in  any  event.  English  institu- 
tions are  not  of  one  kind,  and  those  to  which  America  was 
secured  were  such  as  had  been  unfolded  by  the  colonists 
and  their  friends  at  borne.  It  is  certain  that  the  Whig- 
aristocracy  would  not  have  tolerated  the  thought  if 
they  had  understood  that  side  of  the  war  ; even  the  sym- 
pathy of  men  like  Wolfe  and  Pitt  for  the  ideas  of  the 
English  revolution,  as  the  people  in  America  understood 
and  cherished  them,  was  so  slight  as  to  be  scarcely  dis- 
cernible. 


CHAPTER  X. 


A NEW  ISSUE  IN  CONSTITUTIONAL  GOVERNMENT— 1760- 

1762. 

Disunion  between  America  and  England — Their  respective  Forms 
of  Administration — Political  Theories  in  Vogue — The  Terms 
Provincial  and  Colonial — Theory  of  Grenville — Restrictions  on 
American  Trade — Practice  of  the  Age — Royal  Requisitions — 
The  Plea  of  Gratitude — Legal  Argument  for  the  Taxing  Power 
— Inconsistency  of  Claim  and  Conduct — Inadequacy  of  the 
English  Constitution — The  New  Question — Writs  of  Assistance 
— James  Otis  and  the  Spirit  of  the  Constitution — New  York 
and  the  Appointment  of  Judges — The  same  Question  Else- 
where. 

The  years  from  1760  to  1775  are  among  the  most  im- 
portant in  the  history  of  constitutional  government, 
Disunion  be-  because  in  them  was  tried  the  issue  of  how 
icaeeandAEng-  ^ar  unc^er  that  system  laws  are  binding  on 
land.  those  who  have  no  share  in  making  them. 

They  prepared  the  forces  which  led  to  civil  war  and 
tore  apart  two  portions  of  the  English-speaking  people 
amid  throes  of  violence  like  those  in  which  most  states 
are  brought  into  existence.  There  are  many  points 
from  which  the  events  of  those  years  may  be  viewed. 
The  optimist  who  looks  forward  to  a universal  federation 
of  all  civilized  nations  feels  that  kis  millennium  was  so  fax- 
postponed  when  parent  and  child  separated,  one  of  the 
two  to  dwell  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  while  the  other  chose 
the  plain  of  Jordan.  But  he  must  find  consolation  in 
the  thought  that  millions  have  learned  to  live  under  free 
institutions  in  Amei-ica  who  never  could  have  done  so 


XEtV  ISSUE  IX  C O X STITUTIO X A L GOVERNMENT  117 


had  the  states  remained  colonies.  He  may  regret  that 
those  of  one  speech  should  not  present  to  the  world  an 
undivided  force  working  for  liberty  and  righteousness, 
but  he  will  recall  that  the  interchange  of  relations  be- 
tween the  sister  nations  has  awakened  the  public  con- 
science of  both,  and  wrought  many  a wholesome  reform 
on  each  side  of  the  Atlantic.  If  the  breach  was  a revolu- 
tion for  America,  it  was  the  precursor  of  momentous  de- 
velopment in  England. 

Twenty  years  of  agitation,  with  seven  years  of  fighting, 
left  neither  unchanged,  and  the  change  was  a beneficent 
one  in  both  society  and  politics.  Two  ad-  The;r 
ministrative  devices  to  secure  liberty  have  oiadmiiSura- 
since  divided  Europe  and  America  between  tion- 
them ; but  whether  through  constitutional  monarchy 
with  parliam  entarv  government,  or  by  the  w av  of  demo- 
cratic republican  forms  with  a strong  elective  executive 
and  artificial  checks  on  popular  hurry,  both  have  still  a 
common  end,  and  their  use  is  destined  to  cover  the  earth 
with  a family  of  fx-ee  states  sufficiently  alike  to  check 
wrong  and  diminish  bloodshed,  different  enough  to  pre- 
vent stagnation  and  keep  the  world  on  the  way  of  prog- 
ress. It  is  fortunate  that  the  discovery  of  America  as  a 
separate  nation  wTas  made  when  it  was  : we  may  cherish 
the  fanciful  regret  that  the  separation  wras  not  as  free 
from  strife  as  that  of  Lot  and  Abraham. 

The  development  of  the  English  constitution  was  ever 
historical  and  not  theoretical.  Not  but  that  theories 
were  plenty;  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  „ 
century  was  rife  with  them.  Hobbes’s  Levia-  theories  in 
than  had  sought  to  justify  the  Stewnrt  claim  '°‘ue' 
of  divine  light ; Locke’s  form  of  the  contract  theory  had 
been  the  vindication  of  the  Eevolution.  Bolingbroke  was 
a clever  theorist  on  the  Tory  side  ; the  Whigs  had  a dozen 
defenders  of  their  doctrine  that  Parliament  was  supreme 


118  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


both  within  and  without  the  four  seas  which  bounded 
Great  Britain.  These  dogmas  all  had  an  influence  in 
politics,  but  it  had  been  slight  when  compared  with  the 
instinct  of  the  people  for  the  preservation  of  their  prop- 
erty and  liberty  by  any  expedient  logical  or  illogical. 
But  now,  almost  for  the  first  time,  a theory  was  to  play  a 
decisive  part  in  English  history.  For  in  direct  opposi- 
tion to  the  notion  of  parliamentary  supremacy,  it  ap- 
peared to  some  men  in  England  and  to  many  in  America, 
that  their  freedom  and  prosperity  depended  on  the 
maintenance  of  sovereignty  in  the  crown.  Parliament 
was  not  a representative  body,  the  ascendency  seemed 
secure  in  the  Whig  aristocracy  and  the  king  evidently 
meant  to  assert  his  prerogative  by  becoming  his  own 
premier,  not  by  the  reassertion  of  the  sovereign  char- 
acter of  the  crown  as  an  estate  of  the  nation,  indivisible 
and  supreme.  George  III.  held  the  correct  theory  of  the 
Whigs,  that  each  member  of  Parliament  represented  all 
English  interests  ; the  new  Liberals  believed  that  he  rep- 
resented only  the  interest  or  borough  which  returned 
him,  that  there  was  no  representation  without  a direct 
delegation  of  authority  by  a specific  body  of  freemen. 

Here  lay  the  gist  of  the  whole  matter.  Englishmen  in 
America  disliked  the  term  Colonist  more  than  that  of 

Provincial,  but  they  disliked  both,  for  they 

T?Iib  terms  ***  * 

provincial  and  seemed  to  imply  that  the  royal  charters  had 

stripped  them  of  rights  and  privileges  which 
their  kinsmen  in  England  still  possessed.  In  proof  of 
their  being  freeborn  Englishmen  they  could  point  to  the 
language  of  the  sovereigns  who  had  established  their 
local  governments,  and  to  the  practice  of  the  home  ad- 
ministration which  had  thus  far  refrained  from  meddling, 
or  raising  money  from  them  for  imperial  purposes  except 
by  requisitions  on  their  assemblies  which  were  directly 
representative  of  the  property  taxed.  Grants  had  been 


NEW  ISSUE  IN  CONSTITUTIONAL  GOVERNMENT  119 


promptly  and  lavishly  made,  and  in  return  the  Americans 
cheerfully  but  inconsistently  admitted  the  control  by  Par- 
liament of  all  foreign  trade  and  certain  departments  of 
domestic  commerce  as  well.  Their  cheerfulness  had  been 
connected  no  doubt  with  the  easy  evasion  of  the  Naviga- 
tion Acts,  which  made  profitable  smuggling  well-nigh 
universal  among  American  merchants.  It  was  clouded 
by  the  general  military  control,  introduced  nominally  as 
a war  measure,  but  really  as  part  of  a new  policy. 

Grenville,  foreign  secretary  under  Bute,  and  after- 
ward premier,  was  less  complaisant  and  more  logical. 
He  believed  the  English  settlements  in  Amer-  Theory  of 
ica  to  be  colonies,  and  not  royal  dominions,  Grenville, 
subject  to  the  crown  but  with  independent  parliaments  ; 
that  they  existed  solely  for  the  benefit  of  English  trade 
under  conditions  expressed  by  the  Navigation  Acts,  and 
that — irresistible  argument — there  was  no  distinction 
between  custom-house  dues  which  Parliament  had  always 
collected  and  internal  taxes.  The  colonies  had  grown 
rich  beyond  the  most  visionary  expectation,  it  was  but 
right  they  should  share  the  enormous  burden  which 
Parliament  had  incurred  for  their  benefit.  As  the  rep- 
resentative of  a triumphant  aristocracy,  arrogant  in  the 
successes  achieved  by  the  nation,  he  therefore  deter- 
mined, with  the  king’s  approval,  to  devise  a plan  for 
general  taxation  and  to  execute  the  Navigation  Acts. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  under  those  enactments 
American  trade  was  to  be  restricted  in  the  following 
ways  : By  act  of  1651,  which  was  really  aimed 
at  the  Dutch,  goods  could  be  exported  only  on^lmeric&u 
in  English  ships  ; by  act  of  1663  the  same  tlJde' 
law  was  extended  to  imports  ; by  act  of  1672  the  free- 
dom of  trade  between  the  colonies  was  destroyed  by  lay- 
ing imposts  on  commerce  between  them  ; by  act  of  1699 
no  wool,  either  in  fleece,  spun,  or  woven,  could  be  exported 


120  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


at  all ; in  1719  the  Commons  declared  American  manu- 
factures to  be  dangerous  as  conducive  to  independence  ; 
in  1732  Parliament  forbade  the  export  of  hats  made  in 
America  ; in  1733  it  laid  a duty  on  the  enormous  im- 
ports of  molasses  except  what  came  from  the  British 
West  Indies  ; and  in  1750  it  ordered  the  suppression,  as 
a nuisance,  of  all  rolling-mills,  forges,  and  furnaces. 

But  legislative  interference  with  trade  was  at  that 
time  universal.  Every  subject  of  the  British  crown  in 
Practice  of  the  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  America, 
owed  obedience  to  the  same  or  similar  laws, 
and  every  nation  in  Europe  felt  such  enactments  to  be 
among  the  staples  of  legislation.  The  navigation  statutes 
of  the  United  States  to-day  are  equally  stringent  on  their 
regulative  side,  although  in  a different  direction.  Consid- 
er, moreover,  that  in  the  year  1760  the  English  in  America 
were  exuberantly  loyal  and  intoxicated  with  the  glory  of 
English  arms,  to  which  they  justly  felt  they  had  furnished 
no  insignificant  share.  That  loyalty  continued  as  late  as 
1775,  in  almost  undiminished  measure.  As  for  the  right 
of  Parliament  to  tax  the  American  commonwealths,  the 
Congress  of  1774  “ cheerfully  ” admitted  it  if  confined  to 
imperial  matters,  that  is,  to  foreign  trade.  What  then 
was  the  ground  for  discontent  with  the  measures  adopted 
in  1760  by  the  Board  of  Trade,  through  the  cabinet  and 
Parliament?  Not  a farthing  of  the  money  to  be  raised 
by  parliamentary  taxation  was  to  leave  America,  for  all 
revenue  was  to  be  deposited  in  the  colonial  treasuries. 
The  accounts  were  to  be  kept  in  England,  and  appro- 
priations made  for  two  branches  of  colonial  administra- 
tion— the  support  of  justice  and  the  military  budget. 

Such  specious  pleading  can  only  be  met  by  the  frank 
admission  that  there  was  inconsistency  among  the  liber- 
als from  the  beginning.  It  was  partly  logical  and  part- 
ly due  to  the  distance  between  England  and  America, 


NEW  ISSUE  IN  CONSTITUTIONAL  GOVERNMENT  121 


which  made  intercourse  difficult  and  protracted.  More- 
over, the  interests  of  the  friends  of  liberty  in  England 
seemed  to  require  one  point  of  view,  while  the  Eo  al  rcquisi. 
same  class  in  America  took  quite  a different  tious- 
one.  They  agreed  only  in  a protest  against  the  exercise  of 
arbitrary  power  by  either  king  or  Parliament.  Men  like 
Jackson  and  Alderman  Beckford,  father  of  the  famous 
writer,  reasoned  in  Parliament  that  the  colonies  should 
have  actual,  as  well  as  virtual  representation,  if  that 
body  were  to  lay  internal  taxes  and  control  the  revenues. 
But  their  friends  in  America  knew  that  the  plan  was  im- 
practicable, and  felt  with  Franklin  that  “ when  money  is 
wanted  of  the  colonies  for  any  public  service  in  which 
they  ought  to  bear  a part,”  they  should  be  called  on  “ by 
requisitorial  letters  from  the  crown  (according  to  long 
established  custom)  to  grant  such  aids  as  their  loyalty 
shall  dictate  and  their  abilities  permit.” 

Barre  declared  in  the  House  of  Commons  that  the  col- 
onies owed  no  gratitude  to  the  mother-country  for  their 
prosperity  and  their  emancipation  from  fear,  The  plea  of 
because  they  had  been  planted  by  men  who  gratitude, 
fled  from  tyranny  to  preserve  the  ancient  spirit  of  Eng- 
lish liberty,  and  that  they  had  fought  more  for  English 
advantage  than  for  their  own  protection.  And  yet  they 
were  grateful,  for  the  colonial  assemblies  sometimes  made 
grants  so  liberal  that  Parliament  returned  a portion  of 
them.  During  the  war  they  had  enlisted  and  supported 
as  many  troops  as  England  had  sent. 

The  Whig  argument  for  direct  taxation  was  that  the 
colonies  were  but  corporations,  their  legislative  power 
merely  the  making  of  by-laws.  The  king  had 

J o c/  o Legal  argu- 

grarited  the  charters,  but,  Parliament  being  meet  for  the 

supreme,  he  could  not  grant  legislative  power,  Usm-  pcmei' 
and  they  were  therefore  nothing  but  standing  commis- 
sions, included  under  the  general  and  supreme  jurisdic- 


122  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


tion  of  Parliament  as  similar  concessions  were  in  Eng- 
land. The  liberals  at  home  were  hard  pressed  to  meet 
this  legal  argument.  Men  of  the  type  of  Burke  and 
Rockingham  virtually  accepted  it,  but  claimed  inexpedi- 
ency ; more  radical  minds,  like  Pitt  and  Camden,  either 
plead  that  it  was  true  only  of  Parliament  with  actual  rep- 
resentation, or  in  more  general  terms  that  it  was  uncon- 
stitutional. The  king’s  friends  probably  felt  that  minis- 
ters were  responsible  to  the  crown  alone,  and  that  the 
determination  of  the  ministry  was  really  a sovereign  act 
of  the  crown,  ratified  by  Parliament,  but  not  initiated  by 
it  as  a representative  body.  At  least  such  a doctrine  is 
implied  in  much  of  the  language  used  during  the  wordy 
warfare  of  those  years. 

It  may  be  well  more  concisely  to  recall  the  apparent 
contradictions  thus  indicated  : An  oligarchy  in  England 

pleading  the  supremacy  of  Parliament,  Am- 

cy  of  claim  ericans  set  on  the  sovereignty  of  the  crown  ; 
and  conduct.  ..  ..  . , 

the  prerogative  party  m England  determined 
to  rule  through  parliamentary  forms,  with  the  king 
himself  as  prime  minister,  the  cabinet  to  register  his 
will,  and  so  establish  the  monarch  as  absolute,  the  oppo- 
sition pleading  for  actual  representation  and  ministe- 
rial responsibility  to  the  people  ; the  Americans  finding 
actual  representation  in  Parliament  inexpedient,  demand- 
ing one  form  of  taxation  by  their  representative  assem- 
blies and  cheerfully  leaving  another  form  to  Parliament 
as  it  was  ; great  English  statesmen  accepting  the  high 
Whig  doctrine,  but  refusing  to  act  on  it ; others,  equally 
great,  denying  the  doctrine,  but  from  motives  of  loy- 
alty refraining  from  possible  resistance ; lawyers  on  one 
side  the  sea  spinning  profound  legal  arguments  from  a 
given  set  of  facts,  men  of  equal  eminence  on  the  other 
side,  but  in  the  same  profession,  drawing  political  logic 
of  incontrovertible  force  from  the  same  premises. 


NEW  ISSUE  IN  CONSTITUTIONAL  GOVERNMENT  123 


Amid  such  a maze  we  must  again  repeat  to  ourselves 
that  the  clew  to  history  is  not  in  logic  or  consistency,  but 

in  higher  considerations  of  justice  and  right. 

° * . . Inadequacy 

Parliament  was  not  representative,  the  Amen-  of  the  English 

can  legislatures  were.  The  old  Whigs  were  con,tltutlun- 
no  longer  progressive,  the  new  Whigs  had  hardly  living 
strength,  and  were  an  English,  and  not  an  American, 
party.  The  English  in  America  had  not  yet  read  the 
book  either  of  their  past  or  their  present,  and  behaved 
at  one  time  like  Englishmen,  at  another  like  Americans, 
according  as  they  were  looking  backward  or  forward. 
The  English  constitution  had  never  contemplated  a prob- 
lem like  the  present  one  ; it  could  not  develop  harmoni- 
ously to  include  both  peoples  as  it  has  since  done  with- 
out an  experience  by  its  supporters  that  institutions 
must  adapt  themselves  to  successive  social  states  or 
disappear.  In  this  alone  lies  the  continuity  of  events 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  Revolution. 

The  Americans  were  not  the  Englishmen  known  to 
the  constitution  ; in  fact  they  and  their  land  could  live, 
and  do  live,  under  its  spirit,  but  not  under  Thenewques- 
the  forms  of  1760.  They  were  already  a na-  tion- 
tion  of  religious  dissenters,  being  in  the  main  Calvinists 
trained  in  the  governmental  methods  of  Presbyterianism 
or  Independency  ; they  had  long  been  in  an  attitude  of 
mild  political  dissent  on  various  important  matters,  which 
had  been  postponed  under  the  stress  of  war.  These 
questions,  which  had  existed  from  the  beginning,  were 
now  to  have  full  ventilation  and  be  tried  both  in  prac- 
tice and  theory.  To  the  religious  liberty  long  enjoyed 
was  to  be  added  a complementary  political  independence. 
Not  all  the  facts  nor  all  the  deeds  of  the  time  conform 
to  a single  standard  of  perfect  virtue  on  either  side. 
Whether  in  the  forum  or  on  the  battle-field  the  contest 
was  between  brothers  ; there  was  no  nice  line  of  separa- 


124  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


tion  on  one  side  and  on  the  other  of  either  principles 
or  conduct,  for  there  were  Tories  in  America  and  Am- 
erican sympathizers  in  England.  But  on  the  whole  the 
movement  was  grand,  because  of  its  earnestness  and 
sincerity  ; grander  still  because  of  its  results  in  the  puri- 
fication of  free  institutions  and  their  establishment  on 
two  continents  in  conformity  to  the  needs  of  each.  The 
step  in  the  development  of  constitutional  government 
which  it  represents  was  taken  as  illogicallv  as  any  other, 
but  it  wTas  as  completely  historical  as  any  other  before  or 
since. 

The  shipping  interests  of  New  England  were  of  the 
highest  concern  to  all  her  people,  and  the  prosperity 
Writs  of  as-  Boston  in  particular  depended  on  them. 

sistance.  'While  much  of  her  trade  was  perfectly  legiti- 
mate, much  of  it  was  in  direct  contravention  of  the  Navi- 
gation Acts.  Smuggling  of  all  sorts  was  common,  in  par- 
ticular the  importation  of  molasses  from  the  West  Indies 
had  assumed  great  dimensions  ; from  the  molasses  was 
distilled  rum,  which  was  in  turn  shipped  to  Africa  and 
exchanged  for  slaves,  the  slaves  being  brought  out  on 
return  voyages  and  sold  in  the  South.  To  prevent  the 
evasions  of  owners  and  merchants  the  Lords  of  Trade 
instructed  their  agents  to  apply  to  the  proper  courts  for 
authorization  to  search  both  stores  and  vessels.  The 
Superior  Court  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  had  the 
powers  of  the  English  Court  of  Exchequer,  and  could 
therefore  grant  general  warrants  or  writs  of  an  entirely 
indefinite  nature,  controlling  everybody  and  returnable 
to  nobody,  subjecting  the  domicile  and  property  of  any- 
one to  search. 

The  first  application  for  a writ  of  assistance  was  made 
in  1761,  and  was  vigorously  resisted  by  the  ablest  men  at 
the  Boston  bar,  among  whose  names  history  has  em- 
balmed that  of  James  Otis  because  he  argued  that  the 


NEW  ISSUE  IN  CONSTITUTIONAL  GOVERNMENT  125 


writ  was  dangerous  in  itself,  and  although  backed  by  a 
statute  of  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  was  contrary  to  the 
spirit  of  the  English  constitution.  General  james  otis 
warrants  were  not  yet  declared  invalid  by  the  of 'the'consti- 
English  courts,  although  they  were  soon  to  be  tutiou- 
so  declared.  His  argument  was  therefore  entirely  politi- 
cal, and  to  reason  that  the  courts  could  declare  a statute 
unconstitutional  and  therefore  void  was  a virtual  deni- 
al of  the  supremacy  of  Parliament.  The  notion  of  the 
spirit  of  the  constitution  originated  with  the  anti-pre- 
rogative party,  its  use  by  Otis  was  ingenious  and  daring, 
but  while  the  court  withheld  its  decision  the  writs  were 
eventually  granted.  We  have  not,  however,  any  recorded 
instance  of  their  use.  But  thenceforward  there  were  two 
parties  in  Massachusetts,  the  loyalists  being  led  by  Ber- 
nard the  Governor,  Thomas  Hutchinson  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  and  the  numerous  minor  office-holders  with 
their  friends  and  relatives.  They  were  in  constant  com- 
munication with  their  superiors  in  England,  and  advo- 
cated with  persistence  measures  which  had  already  been 
suggested  by  royal  officers — the  maintenance  of  a stand- 
ing army  in  America  and  the  taxation  of  the  colonies  by 
Parliament. 

One  chief  article  of  the  Declaration  of  Rights  in  1688 
was  that  judges  should  be  appointed  during  good  be- 
havior, and  should  not  hold  office  at  the  king’s  New  York 
pleasure.  The  principle  stood  as  firm  as  ever  pofntment  aof 
in  England,  but  for  political  reasons  it  was  to  Hdges. 
be  denied  in  the  colonies,  and  formal  instructions  were 
issued  in  December,  1761,  that  the  salary  drawn  by 
judges  and  their  tenure  of  office  should  both  be  subject 
to  control.  When,  therefore,  shortly  after  Pitt’s  fall,  the 
Chief-Justice  of  New  York  died,  the  new  appointment  was 
made  as  directed.  It  was  a vital  matter  as  to  whether 
the  court,  if  dependent,  should  depend  on  the  people 


126  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


or  on  the  ministry,  for  it  comprised  in  its  jurisdiction 
the  functions  which  in  England  pertained  to  the  Courts 
of  the  King’s  Bench,  of  the  Common  Pleas,  and  of  the 
Barons  of  the  Exchequer.  At  once  the  legislature  was 
roused  to  resistance,  and  declared  that  unless  the  instruc- 
tions were  withdrawn  they  would  pay  the  judge  no  sal- 
ary. Great  bitterness  of  feeling  came  from  the  incident ; 
the  salary  was  paid  by  royal  command  from  quit-rents, 
and  the  two  parties,  which  were  already  inchoate,  took 
actual  form.  As  in  Massachusetts,  the  officials  were 
prominent  among  the  loyalists,  while  the  native  lawyers, 
foremost  among  whom  was  William  Livingston,  led  the 
party  of  liberty,  and  their  watchword  was  the  principles 
of  the  B evolution  of  1688. 

This  matter  of  the  colonial  judiciary  was  made  a test 
throughout  the  colonies.  The  Governor  of  New  Jersey 
was  deposed  in  1762  for  appointing  a judge 
question  else-  during  good  behavior.  Maryland  and  Penn- 
sylvania were  made  to  feel  their  dependency 
in  the  same  direction.  The  same  year  Bernard  spent  a 
sum  of  money  to  drive  French  privateersmen  from  the 
northern  fisheries,  and  then  demanded  repayment.  The 
legislature  refused  to  yield  the  principle  that  the  appro- 
priation should  have  originated  with  them,  and  declined 
amid  much  excitement  to  grant  the  money. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


THE  STAMP  ACT— 1762-1766 

The  Ministries  of  Newcastle  and  Bute — Grenville  and  Townshend 
— Ministerial  Responsibility — Wilkes  and  the  North  Briton — 
General  Warrants  and  the  Freedom  of  the  Press — Proposition 
for  a Stamp  Act — Prosperity  and  Education  in  America — Colo- 
nial Unity  and  the  Name  American — Failure  of  Franklin's 
Protest — Enactment  of  the  Stamp  Act — Discussion  of  its  Ille- 
gality— Its  Reception  in  America — The  Patriots  and  the  Masses 
— Measures  of  Nullification — Taxation  by  Consent  of  the  Gov- 
erned— Call  for  a Congress — Significance  of  the  Assembly — In- 
consistency of  its  Memorials— Gadsden’s  Plea  and  the  First 
Steps  toward  Union  — Change  in  New  England  Opinion — The 
Rockingham  Ministry — Attitude  of  English  Factions — The  Re- 
peal and  the  Declaratory  Act. 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  majority  of  men,  either  in 
America  or  England,  attached  greater  importance  to  these 
events  than  to  the  other  squabbles  of  past  The  mm.:s- 
years  between  the  people  and  the  office-hold-  cTs  t°e  Nand 
ers.  The  voices  which  declared  that  with  the  Bute- 
conquest  of  New  France  there  would  be  successful  rebel- 
lion among  the  English  colonies  were  not  heard  or  not 
heeded.  George  HI.,  at  any  rate,  never  faltered  in  his 
course.  The  instructions  as  to  the  judiciary  and  the  en- 
forcement of  the  Navigation  Acts  were  issued  by  the 
cabinet  in  which  Newcastle  was  premier,  Egremont  and 
Bute  being  the  Secretaries  of  State,  and  George  Grenville 
the  leader  of  the  House  of  Commons.  In  May,  1762,  the 
duke  finding  himself  contemptuously  disregarded  in  the 
distribution  of  patronage,  withdrew,  and  a ministry  was 


12S  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


formed  under  the  hated  Lord  Bute,  with  Grenville  as 
Secretary  of  State.  So  contemptuous  was  their  treat- 
ment of  the  Whigs,  and  so  rash  their  haste  to  carry  out 
the  king’s  plans  in  creating  a court  party  by  the  use  of 
bribes  and  patronage,  that  the  two  Whig  factions  were 
quickly  welded  into  a strong  united  opposition,  supported 
by  the  mass  of  the  people. 

On  April  8,  1763,  Bute  withdrew,  Grenville  became 
prime  minister  in  his  stead,  and  Charles  Townshend, 
who  had  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  the 
and  Towns-  colonial  question  and  held  extreme  views  as 
to  taxation,  was  retained  as  the  First  Lord  of 
Trade,  although  Grenville  did  not  entirely  sympathize 
with  his  doctrines.  The  First  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
was  Jenkinson,  reputed  to  have  been  the  author  of  the 
Stamp  Act.  But  Bute  remained  the  back-stairs  adviser 
of  his  friend  and  sovereign,  and  George,  faithless  to  the 
notion  of  Bolingbroke’s  “patriot  king,”  weakly  gave  his 
confidence  to  an  “interior,”  or  “kitchen,  cabinet.” 

“ The  public  looked  still,”  as  Chesterfield  said,  “ at 
Lord  Bute  through  the  curtain  which  indeed  was  a very 
transparent  one.”  But  Grenville  was  imperious  and 
would  be  the  creature  of  nobody.  In  the  two  years  of 
his  leadership  the  Whig  oligarchy  seemed  to  regain  its 
old  ascendency.  Could  Pitt  and  Burke  have  reformed 
its  temper  and  its  methods  they  might  have  given  it 
an  indefinite  extension  of  power.  As  it  was,  Gren- 
ville adroitly  offset  the  influence  of  the  king  by  that 
of  Pitt,  neutralizing  both.  Parliament  supported  him. 
Bute  was  at  his  demand  banished  from  favor  and  from 
court,  and  the  responsibility  for  the  misdeeds  of  his 
ministry  rests  with  him.  He  was  a statesman  accord- 
ing to  his  light,  but  men  of  greater  insight  could  in- 
fluence and  follow  neither  him  nor  the  party.  The 
liberal  Whigs  found  a leader  in  the  Marquis  of  Rock- 


THE  STAMP  ACT 


129 


ingliam,  the  extreme  conservatives  rallied  about  the 
Duke  of  Bedford. 

Animosity  and  jealousy  were  rife.  They  were  partly 
personal,  but  at  bottom  was  the  question  of  ministerial 
responsibility.  The  king’s  conception  was  Ministerial  re- 
suicidal,  for  under  constitutional  government  sponsibiiity. 
a cabinet  not  answerable  to  the  representative  assembly, 
but  to  the  crown  alone,  means  that  the  king  is  respon- 
sible, and  a free  people  must  be  able  to  change  its  ser- 
vants at  will.  Otherwise  the  monarchy  is  absolute,  and 
in  defence  of  the  doctrine  that  the  sovereign  might 
unite  in  his  person  the  entire  exercise  of  power  one 
Stewart  had  lost  his  life  and  another  his  throne.  The  al- 
ternative, with  such  a view,  is  of  course  an  elective  exe- 
cutive, a discovery  made  later  by  the  Americans.  The 
other  extreme  view  of  ministerial  responsibility  was  that 
the  House  of  Commons,  as  sovereign,  could  alone  make 
and  dismiss  cabinets.  Unfortunately  for  the  oligarchy, 
they  forgot  that  the  house  was  not  a truly  representa- 
tive body,  and  that  a committee  of  its  members  did  not 
for  that  reason  embody  national  power.  The  facts,  too, 
were  against  them,  because  the  king  still  chose  or  rejected 
ministers,  and  his  confidence  was  necessary  to  their  ex- 
istence. The  compromise  view  of  double  responsibility, 
now  made  possible  by  electoral  reform,  was  then  un- 
known. Where  a ministry  is  primarily  the  public  ser- 
vant of  a free  country,  and  acts  by  principles  and  meas- 
ures agreeable  to  a truly  representative  assembly,  it  can 
demand  the  confidence  of  the  crown.  The  muddle  was 
largely  due  to  the  entire  absence  of  public  discussion 
and  the  inability  of  the  popular  common-sense  to  express 
itself. 

The  Revolution  had  secured  the  freedom  of  the  press  ; 
but  the  press  had  actually  languished  in  its  emanci- 
pation because  parliamentary  debates  were  secret.  For 
9 


130  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


seventy  years  there  had  been  no  opposition  to  the  ruling 
Whigs,  and  the  nation  had  been  so  busy  with  war  and 
religion  as  to  neglect  politics.  But  events 

Wilkes  and  , , , . . . ....  . 

the  North  had  created  a nascent  interest  in  internal 
affairs.  The  Bute  primacy  in  particular  had 
roused  the  London  populace,  and  John  Wilkes,  a keen  edi- 
tor, though  an  unscrupulous  and  scurrilous  man,  seized 
the  opportunity  to  denounce  him  as  a “ royal  favorite  ” 
in  the  pages  of  his  journal,  the  North  Briton.  Soon  af- 
terward the  king  in  his  speech  from  the  throne  declared 
the  peace  of  Paris  to  be  “honorable  to  the  crown  and 
beneficial  to  the  people.”  Wilkes,  in  No.  45  of  his  pa- 
per, made  a direct  attack  on  the  language  used.  The  en- 
gaging demagogue  was  also  a member  of  Parliament. 

He  was  arrested  on  a “ general  warrant,”  similar  to 
the  “ writs  of  assistance  ” applied  for  in  Boston,  and 

General  thrown  into  the  Tower ; but  pleading  his  priv- 
tluftoedornof  ilege  as  a member  of  the  Commons  he  was 
the  press.  released.  In  the  course  of  the  proceedings 
against  him  Grenville  issued  over  two  hundred  writs 
against  various  papers,  and  thereby  aroused  a storm  of  in- 
dignation which  compelled  him  to  desist.  Moreover,  the 
legality  of  general  warrants  was  submitted  to  the  author- 
ities. Two  most  important  constitutional  changes  ensued. 
It  was  decided  that  warrants  calling  for  the  arrest  of  all 
persons  guilty  of  a certain  crime  were  unconstitutional 
because  they  assumed  a guilt  which  might  not  exist ; 
the  freedom  of  the  press  was  established  by  judicial  de- 
cision, and  the  secrecy  of  parliamentary  debate  was  de- 
stroyed. At  a later  time  Wilkes  also  defended  the  rights 
of  constituencies  and  opened  the  way  for  parliamentary 
reform. 

While  the  exercise  of  arbitrary  power  in  England  was 
in  these  ways  restrained,  a sort  of  compensatory  license 
for  America  was  taken  by  the  headstrong  minister. 


THE  STAMP  ACT 


131 


During  1763  tlie  naval  officers  in  America  were  invested 
with  the  rights  of  revenue  officers  for  the  better  enforce- 
ment of  the  navigation  laws,  and  efforts  were 

0 ’ Proposition 

made  to  commit  the  Board  of  Trade  to  a P,r  a stamp 

Act. 

definite  schedule  of  stamp  duties.  But  Shel- 
burne was  the  First  Lord,  and  warily  eluded  the  de- 
mand. It  was  Jenkinson  who  in  September  brought 
forth  the  full-fledged  plan,  having  been  in  all  probabil- 
ity the  originator  of  it.  The  responsibility  was,  of 
course,  Grenville’s.  In  March,  1764,  notice  was  given 
that  it  would  be  introduced  at  the  next  session,  and 
when  the  solemn  question  of  England’s  right  to  tax 
America  was  put,  no  one  but  Barre  voted  or  spoke  in 
the  negative.  Ample  time  was  thus  given  for  agitation 
in  America.  If  newspapers,  almanacs,  marriage  certifi- 
cates, law  documents,  and  other  papers  in  constant  use 
were  to  be  stamped  at  the  rates  then  current,  the  pro- 
ceeds would  be  about  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  a 
year,  a substantial  burden  when  added  to  the  ordinary 
expenses  of  government  for  a population  of  some  two 
million  whites  and  five  hundred  thousand  negroes. 

So  far  the  “Provincials”  had  been  neither  factious 

nor  rebellious.  They  had  a clear  notion  of  their  rights  ; 

experience  had  taught  them  that  their  rustic  pr0Sperity 

musters  could  fight  always  as  well,  and  some-  aud  education 
D ^ in  America, 

times  better,  than  the  regulars  ; they  feared 

the  French  and  Indians  no  longer,  and  while  as  yet  the 
lands  beyond  the  Alleghenies  were  unsettled,  still  the 
near  future  would  prepare  them  for  occupation.  Burke 
could  scarcely  paint  their  unbounded  prosperity  and 
enviable  lot.  In  sixty  years  they  had  quadrupled  their 
exports,  which  had  risen  in  value  to  forty-five  million 
dollars.  In  mental  training  and  intelligence  they  had 
kept  equal  step.  The  first  printing-press  had  been  set 
up  at  Cambridge  in  1639  ; books  and  newspapers  were 


132  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


abundant,  and  six  prosperous  colleges  secured  a learned 
ministry  and  liberal  education  for  all  professional  men. 
Harvard  was  founded  in  1638,  William  and  Mary  in 
1692,  Yale  in  1700,  Princeton  in  1746,  tlie  University 
of  Pennsylvania  in  1749,  and  King’s — now  Columbia — 
in  1754. 

While  there  was  even  yet  a strong  separatist  feeling, 
yet  at  this  distance  it  is  clear  that  the  work  of  unifica- 
Coioniai  vm-  tion  had  been  constant  and  rapid.  Their  re- 
name* Ameri-  spective  local  governments  had  in  common 
can-  many  important  features,  especially  that  of 

two  houses  for  legislation,  of  which  the  lower  was  rep- 
resentative and  laid  the  taxes.  New  Englanders  and 
Virginians  were  now  alike  designated  provincials,  but 
the  name  Americans  gradually  superseded  the  other, 
and  in  1768  the  phrase  American  Whig  was  first  used  as 
the  designation  of  the  native  party.  Union  against  the 
French  had  left  behind  the  instinct  for  union  before 
any  common  danger.  When,  therefore,  the  subject  of 
a Stamp  Act  was  broached  the  colonies  were  united  in 
opposition  and  on  identical  grounds.  In  reality  there 
was  an  English  constitution  for  America,  of  which  the 
unwritten  interpretation  was  universal  among  her  peo- 
ple, that  internal  taxation  without  real  representation 
was  unthinkable,  whatever  views  of  personal  royal  sov- 
ereignty or  parliamentary  supremacy  were  held. 

Benjamin  Franklin  was  made  the  agent  in  London 
not  only  for  Pennsylvania  but  for  other  leading  col- 
_ . onies  to  remonstrate  with  the  Government 

Failure  of 

Franklin’s  against  the  plan  of  a Stamp  Act.  They 
would  listen  neither  to  his  protestations  of 
inexpediency,  to  the  humble  petitions  of  the  Americans 
which  he  wished  to  present  against  the  act,  nor  to  his 
fears  of  resistance.  It  does  not  even  appear  that  he 
succeeded  in  awakening  the  public.  Grenville  had  ad- 


THE  STAMP  ACT 


133 


vanced  with  caution  and  taken  a whole  year  to  prepare 
his  approaches. 

On  February  27th,  1765,  the  act  wdiich  he  had  prepared 
passed  the  Commons,  and  on  March  8th  the  Lords,  the 
royal  assent  being  given  by  commission  on  Enactment 
March  22cl,  for  the  king  was  then  in  a tern-  °f  the  stamP 
porary  condition  of  mental  alienation.  Barre 
protested  in  the  house  ; but  the  vote  was  taken  without 
even  a languid  interest,  and  at  no  stage  was  it  seriously 
amended  or  debated.  In  the  same  session  a modifica- 
tion of  the  Mutiny  Act  was  passed,  whereby  requisitions 
might  be  made  on  the  colonies  to  purchase  rations  or 
furnish  the  troops  with  other  necessaries.  By  wrav  of 
attempted  alleviation,  the  rate  of  postage  was  reduced,  in 
the  hope  that  the  revenue  from  that  source  would  there- 
by be  increased  ; bounties  were  granted  for  the  export  to 
England  of  certain  kinds  of  lumber  useful  in  ship-build- 
ing ; rice  and  such  coffee  as  might  be  raised  experiment- 
ally were  freed  from  important  restrictions ; iron  could 
be  sent  to  England,  and  both  iron  and  lumber  to 
Southern  Europe.  The  whale-fishery  had  already  been 
opened  to  New  England. 

But  the  sop  did  not  appease.  The  material  advan- 
tages granted  were  really  slight.  Such  petty  but  gall- 
ing monopolies  as  made  every  household  sen- 
sitive  to  the  strong  hand  still  remained.  Not  °f  its  illegal- 

. . ity. 

a copy  of  the  Bible,  for  instance,  could  be 
printed  in  the  colonies  until  after  the  War  of  Inde- 
pendence, and  taxes  on  luxuries  of  every  description  in- 
creased the  cost  of  living  among  the  rich  and  influential. 


The  slave-trade  was  guarded  with  vigilance,  in  spite  of 
repeated  protests  from  the  South,  and  in  the  years  from 
1764  to  1779  fifteen  thousand  three  hundred  negroes 
were  annually  landed  in  West  Indian  and  American  ports. 
Accordingly,  emphasis  was  laid  on  the  newly  rising  con- 


134  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


ception,  confined  largely  to  the  radicals,  of  the  illegality 
of  the  stamp  tax.  To  complete  the  picture,  it  was  ar- 
ranged that  the  courts  of  vice-admiralty,  which  under 
the  trade  laws  adjudicated  all  causes  and  adjusted  all 
claims,  should  consist  each  of  a single  judge  without  a 
jury,  and  that  the  salary  of  the  judge  should  be  paid 
from  what  he  condemned. 

Nevertheless  the  prevalent  sentiment  seemed  at  first 
to  be  one  of  sorrow.  New  England  as  a whole  was  even 

its  recep  bnpassive.  James  Otis,  while  calling  for  a 

tion  in  Amer-  congress,  counselled  submission.  But  there 
ica.  ° n 

were  voices.  "Wliitefielcl  in  New  Hampshire, 
Dyer  in  Connecticut,  and  the  newspapers  of  New  York 
saw  and  said  that  persistence  in  such  a policy  would 
breed  rebellion.  Virginia  was  the  first  to  apply  the 
torch  to  public  opinion.  On  May  30th  her  House  of 
Burgesses,  quickened  by  the  oratory  of  Patrick  Henry, 
resolved  that  taxation  by  themselves,  or  by  persons 
chosen  by  themselves,  was  the  first  attribute  of  free 
Englishmen,  as  they  were  and  had  been  from  the  first, 
their  liberties  being  secured  by  inheritance  and  by  royal 
charters  ; and  that  further,  they  would  obey  no  law  other 
than  those  passed  by  their  own  General  Assembly,  any- 
one asserting  the  contrary  being  an  enemy.  About  the 
same  time  an  unknown  New  Yorker,  who  wrote  over  the 
pen-name  of  “Freeman,”  published  a since  famous  refuta- 
tion of  the  plea  of  virtual  representation  which  he  closed 
with  the  words  : “ There  never  can  be  a disposition  in 
the  colonies  to  break  off  the  connection  with  the  mother- 
country  so  long  as  they  are  permitted  to  have  the  full 
enjoyment  of  those  rights  to  which  the  English  constitu- 
tion entitles  them.  . . . They  desire  no  more,  nor 

can  they  be  satisfied  with  less.” 

The  more  radical  patriots  formed  an  association 
known  as  the  Sons  of  Liberty,  and  declared  that  having 


THE  STAMP  ACT 


135 


the  rights  of  Englishmen,  they  were  to  be  ruled  by  their 
own  laws  and  tried  by  men  of  their  own  condition. 
They  were  in  the  main  artisans  and  laborers. 

Caring  but  little  for  the  sentimental  connec-  and  theamass- 
tion  with  England  they  cared  everything  for  e&1 
the  principles  of  Magna  Charta,  and  held  with  Coke  that 
every  act  of  Parliament  contrary  to  them  was  void. 
Thenceforward  the  thoroughgoing  minority  of  the  colo- 
nists became  more  and  more  extreme,  while  the  loyalists 
clung  with  greater  devotion  to  the  English  affinity  un- 
til they  were  scornfully  denominated  “ Tories.”  A still 
larger  number  of  people  were  the  well-to-do,  mildly 
patriotic  townspeople  and  farmers,  who  with  sturdy  loy- 
alty felt  the  home  cause  to  be  their  own,  but  hoped  to 
avoid  any  interruption  to  the  practice  of  their  comfort- 
able trades  and  professions.  It  required  a sharp  crisis 
to  open  their  purses  and  drive  them  to  activity. 

Such  were  the  alarm  and  disaffection  on  every  hand 
that,  in  general,  threats  sufficed  to  compel  the  stamp  offi- 
cers to  resign.  There  were,  however,  serious  Measures  of 
mobs  and  riots  in  Boston.  The  stamps  them-  nullification, 
selves  were  destroyed  wherever  found.  The  act  was  to 
go  into  effect  on  November  1st,  but  long  before  that 
time  there  were  neither  men  nor  means  to  enforce  it. 
The  merchants  and  people  joined  in  milder  but  no  less 
effectual  measures,  agreeing  neither  to  import  nor  con- 
sume English  wares  until  the  act  should  be  repealed. 
The  lapse  of  but  a short  time  gave  a coherence  to  talk 
and  writing  which  neither  had  yet  attained.  The  best 
discussion  of  abstractions  was  that  of  New  England,  and 
of  Samuel  Adams  in  particular.  He  was  a representative 
Calvinist,  logical  and  fearless  because  under  no  bondage 
to  the  carefulness  and  self-indulgence  of  wealth.  By  him 
and  Otis  the  American  idea  of  the  “true  spirit  of  the 
constitution  ” was  further  interpreted.  The  interested 


136  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


motives  of  prospective  office-holders  were  exposed,  the 
natural  rights  of  men  were  set  above  all  tradition,  and 
government  shown  to  be  founded  in  nature,  not  in  force, 
as  Hobbes  believed,  or  in  contract,  as  Locke  would  have  it. 

Colonists  are  men  and  citizens,  and  neither  civil  nor 
feudal  law  can  limit  their  privilege.  The  imposition, 
therefore,  of  taxes,  direct  or  indirect,  without 
consent  of  the  representation,  is  unjust  and  illegal.  There 
was  little  which  was  new  in  all  this,  for  “ tax- 
ation only  with  their  own  consent  ” had  been  the  ardent 
claim  of  the  rebellious  New  York  legislature  in  the  pre- 
vious September,  when  they  disclaimed  exemption  as  a 
privilege  but  “ gloried  in  it  as  a right.”  The  circum- 
stances, however,  added  fresh  importance  to  the  princi- 
ple, and  the  legislative  committees  of  correspondence, 
already  in  existence,  became  a powerful  engine  in  forg- 
ing the  ties  of  intercolonial  union. 

Meanwhile  the  Massachusetts  Assembly  issued  a circu- 
lar letter  calling  for  a colonial . congress,  the  members 
Call  for  a con-  to  be  selected  by  the  popular  house  in  each 

s168®-  case.  The  invitation  found  a ready  accept- 
ance, and  the  congress  met  on  October  7th,  in  New  York. 
New  Hampshire,  though  without  a delegate,  agreed  to 
make  the  issue  her  own  ; Georgia  was  sympathetic  and 
arranged  for  early  information  of  the  result  although  she 
sent  no  representative.  Virginia  was  thwarted  in  elect- 
ing her  members  by  the  refusal  of  the  Governor  to  sum- 
mon the  legislature,  but  her  loyalty  was  only  more  con- 
spicuous. North  Carolina  was  not  represented.  The 
Stamp  Act  Congress  was  therefore  composed  of  delegates 
formally  elected  by  the  legislatures  of  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and 
South  Carolina  ; of  the  legislative  committee  of  corre- 
spondence of  New  York,  and  of  persons  sent  from  New 
Jersey  and  Delaware  with  powers  granted  by  formal 


THE  STAMP  ACT 


137 


written  injunction  from  the  individuals  composing  re- 
spectively the  legislatures  of  those  colonies. 

The  Albany  Conference  of  1754  had  been  a practical 

failure,  but  it  had  at  least  displayed  the  conception  of 

united  action.  The  value  of  this  meeting  lay 

; , . . ml  Significance 

in  an  actual  outline  ot  real  union,  liiere  was  of  tiie  assem- 

an  authorized  representation,  but  the  step  of 
binding  enactment  was  not  yet  taken.  In  the  delibera- 
tions New  England  held  the  narrow,  legal,  and  separatist 
view  that  reliance  must  be  placed  on  the  charters.  The 
sagacious  Gadsden,  of  South  Carolina,  showed  that  they 
might  plead  their  rights  as  Englishmen  from  charters, 
but  that  their  specific  claims  were  based  on  a broader 
ground  which  was  common  to  them  all.  “ There  ought  to 
be  no  New  England  man,  no  New  Yorker  known  on  the 
continent,  but  all  of  us  Americans.”  His  success  was,  how- 
ever, not  due  to  theory.  The  matter  of  colonial  jurisdic- 
tion was  probably  in  the  mind  of  every  member.  Origi- 
nally Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Virginia,  the  Carolinas, 
and  Georgia  claimed  the  Pacific  as  their  western  boundary 
under  the  crown  charters,  which  were  based  on  the  Cabots’ 
discoveries.  In  1763  a royal  proclamation  forbade  land 
sales  west  of  the  Alleghenies,  and  so  turned  the  whole 
Mississippi  Valley  into  a crown  domain.  Colonization  in 
regions  so  remote  as  to  render  allegiance  precarious  was 
discountenanced,  and  the  two  thousand  or  more  white  set- 
tlers already  there  were  put  under  military  rule.  Gads- 
den’s plea  for  the  new  concept  of  “ America  ” prevailed. 

In  the  end  three  memorials  were  drawn  up,  addressed 
respectively  to  the  king,  to  the  Lords,  and  to  the  Com- 
mons. Consistency  is  conspicuously  absent 
from  them.  All  plead  the  inherent  right  of  c/aMts^me- 
trial  by  jury,  aiming  of  course  at  the  en-  monaIs' 
croachments  of  admiralty  jurisdiction,  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  colonial  judges  during  the  king’s  pleasure.  They 


138  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


likewise  disclaimed  the  possibility  of  representation  in 
the  Commons,  asserted  that  supplies  to  the  crown  were 
free  gifts,  and  that  taxes  could  be  imposed  only  by  repre- 
sentative colonial  assemblies.  But  to  the  Commons  they 
admitted  a due  subordination  to  Parliament,”  and  urged 
the  old  untenable  position  that  while  it  might  amend  the 
common  law  and  regulate  trade  throughout  the  whole 
empire,  it  could  not  tax  the  colonies  for  internal  admin- 
istration. 

The  fallacy  of  this  was  clear  enough  to  the  scholarly 
Gadsden,  who  opposed  any  petition  to  either  house  part- 

Gadsden’s  ly  because  they  had  already  refused  those 
first  step  to-  presented  during  the  preliminary  stages  of 
ward  union,  the  Stamp  Act,  but  chiefly  because  they 
held  their  rights  from  neither  the  Lords  nor  the  Com- 
mons. But  he  yielded  in  the  interest  of  unanimity. 
Toward  the  close  of  the  session  a vessel  arrived  with 
a new  supply  of  stamps  ; party  spirit  ran  very  high, 
some  delegates  declaring  that  resistance  to  the  Stamp 
Act  was  treason,  and  that  anyhow  each  colony  should 
act  for  itself.  On  October  25th,  however,  the  major- 
ity finally  signed  the  memorials,  and  the  colonies  be- 
came “ a bundle  of  sticks  which  could  neither  be  bent 
nor  broken.” 

The  influence  of  the  congress  was  immense.  Under 
the  guidance  of  Samuel  Adams,  and  the  leadership  of 

Chancre  in  Massachusetts,  New  England  finally  took  the 
New  England  important  step  of  supplementing  her  legal- 
charter  plea  by  the  broader  one  of  liberty 
as  an  inherent  right,  and  at  last  recognized  America  as 
a whole.  The  merchants  renewed  their  old  agreements, 
and  resolved  to  renounce  all  trade  if  the  act  were  not  re- 
pealed. The  first  of  November  was  signalized  bv  general 
enthusiasm,  with  the  cry  of  “ Liberty,  prosperity,  and  no 
stamps ; ” the  newspapers  appeared,  as  before,  on  un- 


THE  STAMP  ACT 


139 


stamped  paper,  filled,  too,  with  patriotic  editorials  and 
reminders  to  the  authorities  of  the  Porteous  mob  in  Edin- 
burgh. Colden,  the  Vice-Chancellor  and  executive  of  New 
York  surrendered  the  stamps  to  the  municipality,  which 
speedily  returned  them  to  the  hold  of  the  ship  in  which 
they  came.  New  Jersey  disavowed  Ogden,  her  lukewarm 
delegate,  and  Carolina  praised  Gadsden,  her  consistent 
and  rebellious  one.  Throughout  the  land  there  reigned 
a strong  enthusiasm,  a fixed  determination,  and  a most 
serious  disaffection. 

Four  months  before,  the  Grenville  ministry  had  fallen. 
The  arrogance  of  the  oligarchy  reached  a foolish  climax 
in  the  omission  from  the  Regency  Bill,  which  The  Rock_ 
the  king’s  recurrent  attacks  of  insanity  made  min_ 

necessary,  of  his  mother’s  name.  Distress 
among  the  working-classes  created  riots  about  the  same 
time,  and  as  a last  resort  a compromise  ministry  was 
formed  under  the  protectorate  of  the  Duke  of  Cum- 
berland. Rockingham,  the  premier,  was  the  leader  of 
the  liberal  Whigs,  a wealthy  nobleman  of  mediocre 
capacity  but  good  common-sense.  He  has,  however, 
a lasting  title  to  renown  as  the  patron  of  Edmund 
Bin-ke,  the  philosopher,  orator,  and  statesman,  whom 
he  introduced  to  public  life.  Men,  not  measures,  was 
his  pledge  on  taking  office,  and  his  cabinet  had  no 
thought  of  repealing  the  Stamp  Act,  although  its  sup- 
porters in  the  main  held  parliamentary  taxation  of  the 
colonies  to  be  impolitic.  Soon,  however,  a change  of 
opinion  appeared.  As  one  fact  after  another  was  re- 
ported from  America  the  Liberals  began  to  think  the 
internal  taxation  of  the  colonies  not  only  impolitic,  but 
unconstitution  al. 

Pitt  openly  and  vigorously  advocated  this  view,  and 
applauded  the  measures  of  defiance  which  had  been 
taken.  But  Grenville  with  the  majority  stood  fast. 


140  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


English  fac 
tions. 


They  were  willing  to  repeal  the  bill,  but  would  admit 
no  wrong  in  its  principle.  The  petitions  of  Congress 
Attitude  of  were  11  exactly  thrown  out,  but  they  were 
eluded.  Finally,  it  was  formally  voted  that 
Parliament  held  power  as  a trust,  not  as 
being  a representative  body,  and  had  therefore  a right 
to  lay  taxes  on  those  not  represented.  After  long  discus- 
sion and  tactical  delay  the  opposition  secured  the  use  of 
the  king’s  name,  and  declared  that  he  was  for  modifica- 
tion rather  than  repeal,  but  for  repeal  rather  than  for  en- 
forcement. Rockingham,  however,  decided  to  stand  or 
fall  on  the  simple  question  of  repeal.  His  followers  were 
restive,  commerce  was  declining  to  an  appalling  extent, 
the  poor  were  without  employment,  and  to  raise  a rev- 
enue the  alternative  was  an  increase  of  the  land  tax,  a 
burden  already  odious  to  the  landed  aristocracy. 

The  vote  was  taken  in  the  house  of  Commons  on  Feb- 
ruary 22d,  1766,  and  the  majority  for  repeal  was  108,  the 
The  repeal  vo^e  being  275  to  167.  But  before  the  final 
and  the  De-  stage  had  been  reached  a concurrent  resolu- 

claratory  Act.  ° . 

tion  was  taken  asserting  that  Parliament  had 


absolute  power  to  tax,  and  that  all  declarations  of  the 
American  assemblies  to  the  contrary  were  vain.  This 
step,  moreovei',  was  taken  with  full  knowledge,  because  in 
an  interval  of  debate  Franklin  had  appeared  before  the 
house  as  a witness,  and  under  a searching  examination 
had  not  only  declared  the  tax  inexpedient,  but  had  also 
explained  that  while  his  countrymen  had  never  yet  ob- 
jected to  external  taxation,  there  were  many  who  now 
began  to  reason  that  there  was  no  intrinsic  difference 


between  that  and  internal  taxation,  adding  sententiously 
that  in  time  “ the  people  may  be  convinced  by  these  ar- 
guments.” 

But  with  characteristic  disregard  this  momentous  res- 
ervation was  temporarily  overlooked  on  both  sides  the 


THE  STAMP  ACT 


141 

sea.  English  trade  was  to  be  revived,  and  there  was 
little  apprehension  as  to  the  Declaratory  Act,  because  re- 
peal seemed  virtually  to  nullify  it  and  concede  the  op- 
posite principle,  that  representation  is  essential  to  in- 
ternal taxation. 


CHAPTER  XH. 


CONFLICT  OF  TWO  THEORIES— 1766-1768 

Charles  Townshend — The  Chatliam-Grafton  Ministry — Consolida- 
tion of  the  New  Toryism — Enforcement  of  its  Policy — The  Bil- 
leting Act  in  New  York — A New  Tariff — The  King  his  own 
Prime  Minister — The  Constitutional  Crisis— The  Attitude  of 
France — Change  in  Colonial  Doctrine — The  “Farmer’s  Let- 
ters ” — America  Indignant — The  Colonial  Officials — The  Circu- 
lar Letter  from  Massachusetts— Parliament  Demands  its  With- 
drawal— The  other  Colonies  Support  its  Principle — Outbreak 
of  Armed  Resistance  in  North  Carolina— New  Orleans,  St. 
Louis,  and  the  New  West. 

The  repeal  was,  however,  far  from  establishing  a new 
constitutional  principle.  The  Declaratory  Act  had  been 
Charles  regarded  merely  as  a sop  to  the  new  Tories, 
Townshend.  auc[  their  doctrine  that  Parliament  laid  taxes 
not  as  a representative  body  but  in  the  plenitude  of 
the  power  confided  to  it  as  a trust,  had  been  regarded 
as  a passing  fancy.  But  Charles  Townshend  was  a mer- 
ciless logician  as  well  as  a brilliant  rhetorician,  and  the 
warfare  which  he  now  began  against  the  charters  that 
supported  America  in  its  claims  was  waged  on  the  basis 
of  a definite  parliamentary  declaration.  The  compro- 
mise ministry  of  Rockingham  had  performed  its  task, 
and  having  explicitly  taken  its  stand  on  “men,”  could 
not  engage  in  a conflict  over  “ measures,”  especially  such 
weighty  constitutional  questions  as  were  now  involved. 

Accordingly  it  fell,  and  the  king,  thwarted  so  far  in 
his  cherished  ambitions  by  the  aristocracy,  now  sent 


CONFLICT  OF  TWO  THEORIES 


143 


for  Pitt.  The  great  commoner  was  a feeble  old  man. 
His  retirement  had  brought  him  neither  health  nor  ease, 
and  the  haste  in  which  he  hurried  to  London  The  0hat_ 
was  undignified  and  almost  servile.  So  also  m-Grafton 
were  the  appeals  to  a gratitude  which  was 
no  longer  an  active  sentiment,  and  to  the  authority  of  the 
king,  by  which  he  cajoled  and  threatened  men  into  ac- 
cepting positions  in  a new  cabinet  known  as  the  Chat- 
ham-Grafton  ministry.  His  first  step  was  a false  one,  for 
he  had  been  over-persuaded  to  admit  to  his  cabinet  coun- 
cil Townshend,  unchanged  in  his  opinions,  and  giving  no 
guarantee  as  to  his  attitude  regarding  American  ques- 
tions. But  his  second  step  was  fatal,  for  in  creating  him- 
self the  Earl  of  Chatham  he  seemed  to  the  masses  to  have 
abandoned  the  people.  He  therefore  lost  his  only  sup- 
port,  the  good-will  of  the  nation,  which  had  hitherto  loved 
him  for  his  scorn  of  parties,  but  now  refused  to  condone 
the  feeble-mindedness  of  broken  health.  Disheartened 
and  suffering,  he  was  unable  from  the  first  to  hold  the 
reins  of  power.  The  general  disorganization  left  Towns- 
hend free  to  hasten  disaster. 

Shelburne  had  the  colonial  administration,  but  the 
king  disliked  him  and  was  impatient  of  his  leniency. 
The  cabinet,  therefore,  took  measures  to  en- 
force the  rigor  of  the  laws,  and  as  the  old  tion  of  the  new 
Whig  officers  resigned  their  places  one  by  Toiyisra- 
one,  the  king’s  creatures  were  appointed  to  the  impor- 
tant vacancies.  At  last,  when  the  untiring  and  relentless 
orator,  in  open  defiance  of  the  cabinet  of  which  he  was 
a member,  held  up  to  scorn  the  distinction  between  in- 
ternal and  external  taxation  and  declared  the  principle 
of  the  Stamp  Act  to  be  just,  although  the  present  crisis, 
precluded  its  enforcement,  cheers  rang  out  from  both 
sides  of  the  house,  and  official  England  was  finally  and 
irrevocably  committed  to  the  new  Toryism.  The  reasons 


144  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


are  patent.  The  aristocracy  insisted  on  a reduction  of 
the  land  tax,  and,  to  the  dismay  of  both  Chatham  and 
Shelburne,  it  was  voted.  The  expenses  of  the  present 
establishment  in  America  must  therefore  be  met  by  a 
revenue  raised  in  the  colonies.  But  public  opinion  sup- 
ported Parliament,  for  the  agitation  of  the  Tories  had 
now  become  incessant,  and  even  the  merchants  were  final- 
ly won  over  by  the  accounts  of  what  had  been  passing. 

The  non-importation  agreements  of  the  colonists,  their 
demands  for  the  non-enforcement  of  the  Navigation  Acts, 
their  determination  to  put  all  the  expense  of 
men"  of  Cits  the  late  war  on  English  shoulders,  the  vague 
pollcy'  and  general  sense  of  their  ingratitude,  the 

partial  refusal  of  New  York  to  billet  troops,  the  defiance 
of  Massachusetts,  above  all,  the  failure  of  the  Americans 
to  remit,  all  these  themes  were  discussed  in  heated  rhet- 
oric which  revelled  in  terms  like  folly,  wickedness,  and 
incendiary.  "When  Chatham  hastened,  as  fast  as  his 
acute  suffering  would  permit,  from  Marlborough  to  Lon- 
don, in  order  to  replace  Townshend  by  Lord  North,  it 
was  found  that  public  sentiment  would  not  tolerate  the 
change.  In  the  spring  of  1767  the  new  policy  wras  made 
operative. 

The  legislature  of  New  York  had  been  deaf  to  the 
clause  of  the  Billeting  Act,  whereby  the  requisitions  of 
the  commanding-general  were  made  “ agree- 
ing Act  in  ably  to  act  of  Parliament,”  and  disdaining  the 
New  Yoi k.  absurdity  which  sought  to  secure  the  form  of 

legislation  and  yet  retain  the  rigidity  of  a parliamentary 
requisition,  voted  all  necessaries  as  if  of  their  own  free 
will,  granting  only  what  an  English  legislature  would 
have  granted,  and  implicitly  refusing  some  minor  de- 
mands. The  first  measure  of  Parliament  was,  therefore, 
to  enjoin  it  from  any  further  independent  action  until  it 
should  comply  with  the  letter  of  the  Billeting  Act.  The 


CONFLICT  OF  TWO  THEORIES 


145 


extreme  gravity  of  this  injunction,  directed  to  the  Gov- 
ernor, lay  in  its  virtual  declaration  of  parliamentary 
sovereignty ; in  reality  it  wiped  out  at  a single  stroke  all 
the  American  charters.  Such  extreme  courses,  however, 
generally  thwart  themselves,  and  similar  things  had  hap- 
pened before  in  the  mutual  interrelations  of  the  home 
and  colonial  governments. 

The  other  enactments  were  more  serious  in  reality, 
though  less  extreme  in  theory.  A series  of  articles  were 
selected  on  which  direct  duties  were  to  be 
collected  in  American  ports  by  officers  who 
were  to  take  a test  expressly  declaring  their  belief  in 
parliamentary  authority.  There  were  enumerated  wine, 
oil,  and  dried  fruits  as  luxuries  ; paper,  paints,  and  other 
necessaries.  Finally,  with  insidious  adroitness,  the  list 
was  closed  by  the  important  article  of  tea,  which  by  pay- 
ing duty  but  once  in  the  colonies  would  be  cheaper  for 
American  than  even  for  English  consumers.  The  total 
revenue  thus  derived  was  at  the  king's  disposal  for  the 
payment  of  governors,  judges,  and  other  crown  officers. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  even  the  author  of  the 
Stamp  Act  had  not  shown  such  daring.  The  civil  ser- 
vants necessary  for  the  execution  of  that  act 

• • T li  6 k i n sr 

were  to  have  been  subject  to  the  local  legis-  his  own  prime 

latures,  and  the  proceeds  were  to  have  been  nxinibter- 
paid  into  American  treasuries  subject  to  the  order  of 
the  Exchequer.  Such  rashness  seemed  therefore  to  the 
Whigs  unparalleled,  and  they  chose  the  moment  and 
some  trivial  measure  of  procedure  to  attack  the  ministry. 
In  the  division  there  was  a paltry  majority  of  three  for  the 
latter,  the  king  saw  his  chance  to  annihilate  the  Whigs 
and  assert  parliam entary  supremacy  in  America  by  one 
stroke.  With  stubborn  persistence,  therefore,  he  with- 
stood the  natural  impulse  of  Chatham  to  resign,  put  for- 
ward as  a compromise  Grafton  to  be  nominal  premier, 
10 


146  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

and  himself  assumed  the  actual  direction  of  affairs.  The 
goal  of  his  fatal  ambition  was  reached.  As  a climax  to 
the  whole  disastrous  procedure  the  Board  of  Customs, 
charged  to  enforce  the  Navigation  Acts  and  repress 
smuggling  was  established  in  Boston  and  writs  of  as- 
sistance were  legalized. 

Neither  wing  of  the  Whigs  was  blind  to  the  constitu- 
tional crisis,  and  though  Chatham  was  ere  long  entirely 
The  eonstitu-  incapacitated  for  work,  his  friends  were  yet  a 

tionai  crisis.  forc6)  an(j  they,  too,  understood  the  impending 
danger.  Meeting  after  meeting  of  the  factions  was  held. 
But  dull  obstinacy  presided  over  their  councils,  no  agree- 
ment could  be  reached,  and  the  delighted  king  saw  him- 
self the  only  support  of  a cabinet  which  was  thus  de- 
graded to  the  same  level  with  the  so-called  continental 
cabinets  under  the  absolute  monarchies  which  were  his 
model.  He  had  patronage  worth  six  millions  sterling  a 
year  ; less  than  ten  thousand  voters  chose  the  majority 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  made  supreme  bv  the  events 
of  the  last  half  century  ; and  in  the  unstinted  bribery 
which  Walpole  and  Newcastle  had  made  customary,  he 
found  the  security  of  a majority  sufficient  to  record  his 
personal  will  as  if  it  were  true  legislation.  There  could 
be  but  one  ground  for  anxiety  ; it  lay  in  the  fact  that 
returned  Anglo-Indians,  with  their  fabulous  wealth,  had 
raised  the  price  of  venal  boroughs  to  three  times  that 
of  twenty  years  before,  and  made  such  seats  more  diffi- 
cult to  control. 

Was  it  wonderful  that  the  spectacle  of  such  degener- 
acy in  England  should  awaken,  as  it  did,  the  attention 
The  attitude  and  sorrow  of  her  friends  and  fill  her  enemies 

ot  Prance.  with  hope.  Choiseul,  the  great  French  minis- 
ter for  foreign  affairs,  was  well  informed  concerning  the 
unexampled  development  of  the  American  colonies  in 
population  and  wealth,  and  was  watching  with  interest 


CONFLICT  OF  TWO  THEOPJES 


147 


the  incipient  spirit  of  independence  and  sentiment  for 
union.  Surmising  a possible  renewal  of  his  rival’s  fear- 
less colonial  policy  on  the  return  of  Chatham  to  power, 
he  had  therefore  by  fine  diplomacy  forestalled  him  in  the 
leading  courts  in  case  there  should  once  again  be  war ; 
France  was  ready  and  hoped  for  the  conflict  which  many 
thought  could  not  long  be  postponed.  Two  remarkable 
changes  could  be  cited  in  support  of  the  opinion. 

The  first  was  a change  in  colonial  doctrine.  To  the 
cry  of,  “ no  representation,  no  taxation,”  had  succeeded 
a very  different  one — “no  representation,  no 
legislation.”  The  origin  of  the  new  watch-  cou'niaf  doc- 
word  is  obscure.  As  early  as  1766,  and  in  trme' 
the  same  year,  Franklin  before  Parliament,  and  Hawley 
in  the  Massachusetts  legislature,  had  forecast  the  possi- 
bility of  the  colonies  assuming  that  ground  as  an  English 
constitutional  right.  This  was,  of  course,  a new  stage 
in  the  evolution  of  doctrine.  James  Otis  had  written  a 
pamphlet  to  prove  that  there  was  no  difference  between 
internal  and  external  taxation,  if  both  were  to  be  used  to 
raise  a revenue  ; that  both  were  alike  illegal  when  laid 
by  Parliament  for  that  end,  and  that  the  only  legal  ac- 
tion of  the  English  legislature  in  regard  to  the  colonies 
was  the  regulation  of  trade  by  external  taxation,  when 
necessary. 

But  the  event  which  marked  its  final  adoption  as  an 
epoch  in  the  constitutional  struggle,  was  the  appearance 
of  the  famous  “Farmer’s  Letters”  of  John  Tbe“Farm- 
Dickinson,  of  Pennsylvania,  which  set  forth  er’s 
the  new  theory  of  resistance  to  parliamentary  aggression 
with  such  calmness  and  conclusiveness  that  it  met  with 
universal  acceptance  in  America.  Writing  as  an  Eng- 
lishman, thoroughly  loyal  to  the  crown,  the  author  de- 
clared that  to  forbid  certain  manufactures  in  America, 
and  then  tax  the  manufactured  articles  by  customs  dues, 


148  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


was  unprecedented  in  English  legislation,  and  must  be 
resisted  as  an  oppressive  innovation.  The  tone  of  all 
twelve  letters  is  one  of  respectful  remonstrance  to  a 
parent  who  has  forgotten  what  is  due  to  her  children. 

But  the  people  of  America  were  neither  placid  nor  pa- 
tient. The  old  agreements  of  non-importation  were  re- 
America  in-  newed  ; there  was  much  violent  talk  in  Bos  - 
dignant.  ton  about  preventing  the  new  and  obnoxious 
officials  from  landing,  and  there  rained  down  a pamphlet 
literature  in  which  every  aspect  of  the  new  principle 
was  discussed.  It  was  understood  that,  for  the  purpose 
of  unifying  the  colonial  governments,  the  charters  were 
to  be  annulled  on  Mansfield’s  plea  that  they  were  void 
because  of  their  extent ; if  the  power  of  absolute  legisla- 
tion really  existed  by  grant  of  the  crown,  the  extravagant 
grant  being  void  was  to  be  withdrawn  by  Parliament. 
In  response  the  position  was  taken  that  consent  alone 
gives  force  to  law.  If  this  be  not  English  right,  said  the 
Americans,  why  then  should  Ireland  have  a separate  Par- 
liament. Meantime,  the  action  of  Massachusetts  was  as 
cautious  as  the  language  of  her  citizens  was  heated,  and 
Connecticut,  whose  most  liberal  charter  was  chiefly  ob- 
noxious, took  care  to  give  no  overt  ground  for  attack. 

The  second  change  which  foreboded  war  was  more 
illusive  in  its  sources,  but  no  less  real  and  critical  in  its 
The  colonial  manifestations.  Parliament  was  about  to 
officials.  dissolve  when  Townshend  died  in  1767.  No 
new  legislation  was  therefore  undertaken,  but  the  cabinet 
was  reconstructed.  Shelburne  was  left  without  any  real 
power  by  the  subdivision  of  his  department,  Conway 
and  the  friends  of  America  with  him  went  out  and  six 
Bedford  Whigs  came  in,  among  them  Hillsborough  as 
colonial  secretary,  and  Lord  North  in  the  Exchequer, 
who  were  both  the  heirs  and  supporters  of  Townshend’s 
policy.  Early  in  1768  the  twelfth  Parliament  expired  ; 


CONFLICT  OF  TIT O THEORIES 


149 


its  successor  was  equally  corrupt  and  servile,  many  of 
the  seats  having  been  purchased  at  prices  ranging,  it 
was  said,  from  four  to  a hundred  thousand  pounds. 
There  had  been  a revulsion  of  feeling  among  the  English 
people  against  Townshend’s  revenue  policy.  A hundred 
and  fifty  new  members  sat  in  the  house,  but  they  were 
entirely  heedless  of  public  sentiment,  and  neither  min- 
istry nor  policy  had  changed  — so  complete  was  the 
king’s  success  in  disorganizing  the  Whigs.  The  “King's 
Friends  ” were  the  germ  of  the  new  Tory  party,  and  the 
Bedford  Whigs  were  in  reality  identical  with  them  in 
spirit.  Chatham  was  displaying  the  temporary  eclipse 
of  his  reason  by  an  aimless  and  extravagant  display  in 
the  role  of  king’s  confidant.  Rockingham  and  his  fol- 
lowers, the  remnant  of  liberalism  in  Parliament,  were  in 
a minority  too  hopeless  for  organization,  and  under  the 
unreformed  parliamentary  system  the  real  liberals  of  the 
country,  though  numerous,  were  entirely  unrepresented. 
Such  was  the  explanation  of  a new  attitude  insensibly 
but  firmly  taken  by  the  representatives  of  the  crown  in 
America,  governors,  judges,  and  officials  generally.  Mag- 
nifying into  undue  proportion  every  word  and  mood  of 
the  protesting  colonists,  they  clamored  for  ships  and 
troops,  stirred  up  personal  enmities,  fomented  faction, 
and  deluged  their  superiors  with  accounts  of  “ treason  ” 
and  “ rebellion,”  which  existed  only  in  their  own  timid 
and  excited  brains.  More  than  any  others  they  were  re- 
sponsible for  what  followed. 

The  time  arrived  for  enforcing  the  new  statutes,  and 
the  board  of  customs  was  duly  organized  in  Boston. 
Soon  after,  in  January,  1768,  the  Massachu-  The  circular 
setts  legislature  issued  a remarkable  circular  m a Beach*™ 
to  the  other  colonies,  citing  the  original  con-  setts- 
tracts  between  the  crown  and  the  colonies,  the  terrible 
consequences  of  James  II. ’s  attempt  to  abrogate  charters, 


150  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AM’D  THE  REVOLUTION 


and  claiming  as  colonists  their  title  by  contract,  by  com- 
mon, and  by  statute  law  to  the  privileges  of  Englishmen, 
among  which  were  exemption  from  taxation  except  by 
their  own  representatives.  But  representation  in  Par- 
liament being  impossible,  their  own  legislatures  were 
alone  competent.  They  therefore  urged  a united  peti- 
tion to  the  King  as  the  umpire  in  their  conflict  with 
Parliament.  Hillsborough  had  already  issued  a warrant 
on  the  Board  to  pay  Hutchinson  two  hundred  pounds. 
After  the  issue  of  the  circular  the  Board  set  forth  a me- 
morial representing  the  impossibility  of  enforcing  the 
laws  except  by  intimidation. 

But  there  was  neither  active  resistance  nor  talk  of  it. 
Self-denial  as  to  imported  garments,  tea,  and  any  articles 
on  which  illegal  revenues  were  raised,  was  the 

Parliament  n , -i  . • -■-*  « « i 

demands  its  only  weapon  ol  the  Americans,  but  tne  con- 

withdrawal.  tcntious  governor  prosecuted  the  newspapers, 
the  crown  officers  pretended  to  be  terrified  by  the  state 
of  public  feeling  and  kept  calling  for  troops.  They  were 
the  more  exasperated  by  the  contemptuous  defiance  ex- 
pressed by  the  citizens  in  a good  order  unwonted  in 
such  times  of  excitement  as  the  celebration  of  the  re- 
peal of  the  Stamp  Act.  The  strongest  expressions  of 
sympathy  followed  in  other  colonies,  especially  through 
Livingston  in  New  York  and  Washington  in  Virginia. 
In  April,  Parliament  demanded  that  the  circular  should 
be  withdrawn  and  disavowed.  Governor  Bernard  was 
instructed  to  dissolve  the  legislature  as  often  as  it  should 
refuse,  the  comraander-in-chief  at  New  York  was  to 
maintain  public  order,  and  the  first  open  act  of  armed 
hostility  was  committed  by  the  despatch  of  a fleet  and 
troops  to  menace  Boston.  But  the  public  order  was  not 
endangered. 

The  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses  issued  a second  cir- 
cular much  bolder  in  tone  than  the  first,  calling  now  for 


CONFLICT  OF  TWO  THEORIES 


151 


union  in  defence  of  American  rights  and  liberties.  New 
Hampshire,  Connecticut,  New  York,  Maryland,  and 
South  Carolina  supported  Massachusetts  in  The  other 
the  refusal  of  her  legislators  to  withdraw  the  po^ts  prm- 
document.  Yet  still  the  people,  “versed  in  ciPle- 
the  crown  law,”  as  the  English  authorities  admitted, 
carefully  avoided  any  unconstitutional  course  or  any  se- 
ditious word.  The  conduct  of  their  rulers  was  quite  dif- 
ferent. Without  waiting  for  action  in  England,  Bernard 
summoned  a man-of-war  from  Halifax.  Her  captain  be- 
gan at  once  to  impress  seamen,  and  the  sloop  Liberty,  a 
vessel  belonging  to  John  Hancock,  was  seized  on  a charge 
of  false  entry.  That  night  there  was  a riot  and  the  mob 
destroyed  some  property  belonging  to  the  officials.  But 
when  the  troops  despatched  by  Parliament  arrived  there 
was  perfect  order,  in  spite  of  the  overbearing  insolence 
of  officers  determined  to  illegally  billet  the  troops  on  the 
town.  Recourse  was  had  to  the  courts,  which  firmly  re- 
pelled the  exasperating  aggressions.  The  legal  learning 
which  every  man  seemed  to  possess  in  minute  details  was 
the  efficacious  weapon  displayed  against  the  attempts  of 
officials  to  lay  the  responsibility  of  active  resistance  at 
the  door  of  the  Americans. 

There  were,  however,  both  violence  and  bloodshed  in 
North  Carolina,  where  the  sturdy  farmers  of  the  uplands, 
stung  to  desperation  by  the  arbitrary  exactions  outbreak  of 
of  officers  responsible  only  to  an  absentee  pro-  anceln  North 
vost-marshal,  at  last  organized  armed  bands  Carolma- 
for  resistance.  Justice  likewise  became  so  uncertain,  and 
litigation  so  extravagantly  expensive,  that  these  so-called 
“ regulators  ” finally  took  action.  Trvon,  the  governor, 
attacked  them  with  fifteen  hundred  soldiers,  and  quelling 
the  rebellion,  proceeded  to  an  inquisition.  The  extor- 
tionate and  venal  judge  who  had  caused  the  outbreak 
was  found  guilty,  and  mulcted  in  a nominal  fine  of  one 


152  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


penny  on  each  charge,  while  the  leaders  of  the  regulators 
were  compelled  to  pay  fifty  pounds  each,  a sum  enormous 
in  that  time  and  place.  Spain  had  regarded  the  immense 
territory  of  Louisiana,  acquired  from  France  by  the 
treaty  of  Paris,  as  a safeguard  for  Mexico,  while  Eng- 
land appeared  to  look  on  the  Mississippi  and  the  eastern 
half  of  its  valley,  as  far  as  the  Alleghenies,  in  much  the 
same  way  as  a safe,  indefinite  frontier  against  Spain. 
The  wilderness  was  to  remain  unsettled,  for  colonies 
planted  in  it  could  neither  be  governed  themselves,  nor 
defended  against  others.  Tryon’s  conduct  indirectly 
thwarted  the  English  policy,  for  the  people  of  North 
Carolina,  disaffected  and  undaunted,  began  to  emigrate 
across  the  mountains  to  a land  in  which,  though  again  to 
face  the  terrors  of  a ravaged  frontier,  they  would  at  least 
be  free. 

Almost  at  the  same  time  the  inhabitants  of  New  Orle- 
ans, determined  to  be  either  French  or  independent,  rose 
New  orie-  against  the  sovereignty  of  Spain,  and  were 
and  ffi'e^New  ^ree  *'or  a year.  The  remnants  of  the  same 
West;.  population  further  north  in  Illinois,  Indiana, 

and  Michigan,  turned  their  backs  as  far  as  possible  on 
the  English,  and  ignorant  of  the  treaty  of  Paris,  laid  the 
foundations  for  the  commercial  prosperity  of  St.  Louis, 
a city  which  they  fondly  believed  to  be  still  French.  It 
had  been  founded  in  1763  by  Laclede.  The  existence  of 
this  population  had  made  it  difficult  for  Hillsborough  to 
establish  his  line  between  savage  dominion  and  English 
administration.  Virginia  claimed  what  is  now  Kentucky, 
and  the  entire  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  as  far  as 
the  great  lakes.  New  York  claimed  to  Lake  Erie.  Ma- 
ryland and  Pennsylvania  had  settled  bounds.  At  last, 
however,  by  two  agreements,  one  made  at  Hardlabour, 
in  South  Carolina,  one  at  Fort  Stanwix,  in  New  York,  a 
line  was  definitely  established  from  the  junction  in  the 


CONFLICT  OF  TWO  THEORIES 


153 


latter  colony  of  Wood  Creek  with  Canada  Creek,  by  the 
west  fork  of  the  Susquehanna  to  Kittanning  on  the  Alle- 
gheny River,  thence  by  that  stream  and  the  Ohio  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Tennessee,  which  thus  became  the  western 
boundary  of  Virginia.  The  idea  was  never  adopted  by 
the  colonies  and  was  futile  from  the  outset,  for  the  very 
next  year  Daniel  Boone  entered  Kentucky. 


CHAPTER  XIH. 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  REVOLUTION-1770-1774 

Reply  to  the  “Farmer’s  Letters” — The  Colonies  United  in  Pur- 
pose— Disorganization  of  Colonial  Government— New  York 
Suggests  a Congress — New  Opinions  in  Great  Britain — Loyalty- 
in  America — The  Boston  Riots — The  Battle  on  the  Alamance- 
Burning  of  the  Gaspee  —Effects  of  Oppression — Failure  of  the 
non-importation  Agreements— Committees  of  Correspondence 
— Final  Collapse  of  Colonial  Administration — Constitutional 
Changes  in  England — Benjamin  Franklin — The  Hutchinson 
Letters — Franklin  before  the  Council — His  Conduct. 

Meantime  Parliament  was  again  in  session.  Shelburne 
had  been  dismissed,  and  Chatham,  having  played  to  the 
Reply  to  the  enc^  the  ignoble  part  which  George  had  as- 
Farmer’s  signed  him,  was  permitted  to  retire.  The 

ijctCtirs*  # a f # 

ministry,  with  Lord  North  as  premier,  con- 
tinued arrogant  and  determined  for  a time,  although 
Burke,  the  orator  of  the  Rockingham  Whigs,  inveighed 
against  their  inconsistency  and  fatuity.  He  showed  that 
the  Massachusetts  Assembly  had  been  neither  treasonable 
nor  even  unconstitutional,  and  the  authorities  at  last  con- 
cluded that  orders  to  deport  men  into  England  to  be  tried 
for  treason,  such  as  they  had  contemplated,  must  rest  on 
actions  of  another  sort,  and  find  firmer  legal  support 
than  the  statute  of  Henry  VIH.  which  Samuel  Adams  had 
scorned.  But  they  determined  to  censure  Boston,  and 
still  refused  a repeal  of  the  revenue  laws.  Parliament 
would  yield  nothing  of  its  “ sovereignty,”  though  feeling 
the  obnoxious  acts  of  Townshend  to  be  uncommercial. 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  REVOLUTION 


185 


The  plea  of  their  illegality  must,  they  felt,  be  abandoned 
before  either  modification  or  repeal.  The  ministry 
therefore  issued  an  answer  to  the  “Farmer’s  Letters,” 
but  feeling,  no  doubt,  the  force  of  the  Whig  position, 
and  fearing  the  acute  interpretation  of  constitutional  law 
in  which  the  colonies  so  excelled,  they  neither  jmoposed 
the  repeal  of  the  charters  nor  any  prosecution  for  treason. 
Their  diplomatic  isolation  moreover  was  complete,  and 
England’s  only  possible  friend  was  Spain,  which  was 
proceeding  to  recover  New  Orleans  and  Louisiana,  but 
would  be  both  a difficult  and  uncertain  ally  in  a gen- 
eral war. 

But  their  resolution  found  the  colonies  more  united 
than  ever-.  Virginia,  in  spite  of  the  conciliatory  measures 

of  her  new  governor,  Lord  Botetourt,  was  ac-  , . 

The  colonies 

cepting  the  guidance  of  her  three  famous  pa-  united  in  pa- 
triots, Washington,  Jefferson,  and  Henry.  Her 
legislature  decided  that  writs  of  assistance  were  illegal, 
the  determination  of  Parliament  wrong,  that  they  them- 
selves and  they  alone  could  impose  taxes  on  the  people 
who  chose  them,  that  union  was  lawful  and  expedient  to 
preserve  violated  rights.  Dissolved  as  a legal  body,  the 
members  met  as  a convention,  adopted  Washington’s 
scheme  of  non-importation,  and  issued  for  signature  a 
covenant  not  to  import  slaves.  Pennsylvania  and  Dela- 
ware fell  into  line.  In  Newport  harbor  a smuggling  ves- 
sel was  rescued  from  the  revenue  officers  and  their  cutter 
destroyed.  Conflicts  like  these  were  common  through- 
out New  England,  and  contributed  to  colonial  impatience. 
In  one  of  them  James  Otis  received  the  blow  on  the 
head  which  led  to  the  premature  and  deplorable  loss  of 
his  faculties.  A possible  leader  was  lost  in  him. 

In  Massachusetts  the  legislature  was,  after  a long  in- 
terval, convened  by  Bernard  for  the  purpose  of  getting  a 
grant  of  salary.  They  refused  to  act  in  the  face  of  coer- 


156  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


cion  with  guards  at  their  doors  and  regiments  quartered 
near.  Though  adjourned  by  the  governor  to  Cam- 

Disorgani-  bridge,  they  still  spent  their  time  in  discuss- 
onilT  govern-  iug  their  violated  liberties,  passed  resolutions 
meut-  asking  for  Bernard’s  recall,  and  refused  ap- 

propriations either  for  his  salary  or  for  the  supplies  to 
the  garrison.  They  were  therefore  prorogued.  These 
two  dissolutions  are  of  the  utmost  importance,  because 
they  mark  the  beginning  of  a process  which  finally  re- 
sulted in  the  entire  disorganization  of  colonial  govern- 
ment in  America. 

Scarcely  less  dangei’ous  to  England  was  the  tempor- 
ary success  of  her  officials  in  securing  by  the  most  in- 

„T  „ , famous  acts  the  election  of  a legislature  in 

suggests  a New  York,  which  after  two  successive  re- 
cod  cress. 

fusals  by  its  predecessors  to  provide  for  the 
garrison,  suri’endered  at  last  everything  the  crown  de- 
manded. But  the  same  body  passed  a resolution  invit- 
ing the  colonies  to  choose  each  two  delegates  who 
should  assemble  in  a congress  with  power  to  legislate 
for  the  united  colonies,  in  the  hope  of  inaugurating 
American  union  without  separation  from  England.  Vir- 
ginia actually  chose  her  delegates,  but  the  ministry  for- 
bade the  meeting  ; they  were  right  in  their  estimate  of 
the  scheme  as  dangerous  and  revolutionary.  Parlia- 
ment, wearied  and  confused  by  the  tactics  of  the  colo- 
nies, seized  this  opportunity  to  repeal  all  the  obnoxious 
taxes  except  that  on  tea,  which  it  stubbornly  retained 
to  display  its  sovereignty,  or  more  probably,  at  the  in- 
stance of  the  king,  to  display  his  supremacy.  The  Bil- 
leting Act  had  expired  by  limitation. 

There  thus  remained,  of  all  the  exasperating  measures 
which  had  led  the  colonies  to  the  verge  of  open  rebellion, 
the  former  tax  on  sugar,  and  a tax  on  tea  light  enough 
to  be  inconsiderable  in  regard  to  revenue,  but  bur- 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  REVOLUTION  157 


dened  with  a principle  so  obnoxious  as  to  be  destructive. 
The  maladroit  Tories  had  utterly  failed  in  their  pro- 
gramme for  the  taxation  of  the  colonies,  but 
° ...  New  opm- 

had  erected  a principle  destined  to  foster  fatal  g m Great 
animosities  between  brethren.  At  the  same 
time  the  counter-revolution  of  opinion  became  manifest 
in  Great  Britain  itself.  Grattan  entered  on  his  glorious 
career  of  Irish  agitation  ; Chatham,  recalling  his  former 
glories,  suggested  a process  for  the  reform  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  and  for  the  first  time  in  English  history 
public  meetings  to  demand  popular  rights  were  held. 
And  the  press,  opening  fire  with  the  scurrilous  and 
clever  letters  of  “Junius,”  a pen-name  which  still  shields 
an  unknown  writer,  entered  on  a campaign  fraught  with 
the  weightiest  consequences  for  posterity. 

The  three  years  from  1770  to  1774  may  be  said  to 
open  the  third  and  final  period  of  the  constitutional 
revolution,  the  period  which  separated  the  Loyalty  in 
colonies  from  the  mother-country,  and  thus  Amcnca- 
enabled  them  to  lead  by  fifty  years  in  establishing  and 
realizing  the  principles  of  liberalism.  They  illustrate 
how  unwillingly  the  community  entered  on  the  course  of 
disruption,  and  how  deliberate  and  long-suffering  men  of 
English  blood  can  be  in  the  face  of  oppression  and  irrita- 
tion. Some  Americans  like  Chief  Justice  Hutchinson,  who 
was  selected  to  succeed  Bernard  with  the  title  of  lieuten- 
ant-governor, and  was  then  made  governor,  were  more 
devoted  to  their  English  citizenship  than  to  their  private 
liberties.  The  number  of  such  was  large,  and  among 
them  was  for  a time  the  greater  part  of  the  wealth,  learn- 
ing, and  refinement.  Franklin  and  Dickinson  were  long 
of  this  section.  But  the  plain  people  like  Samuel  Adams 
were  far  more  American  than  English  in  feeling,  and  the 
blunders  of  the  ministry  swelled  their  numbers  by  the 
addition  of  many  rich,  influential,  and  educated  men. 


158  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


The  line  of  demarcation  between  the  two  classes  became 
more  definite  in  these  years,  although  on  either  side 
were  to  be  found,  of  course,  both  moderate  and  radical 
minds. 

The  process  was  hastened  by  two  or  three  events  of 
very  unequal  importance  : the  so-called  Boston  massacre, 
The  Boston  the  battle  of  the  Alamance,  and  the  seizure 
riots.  Qf  the  Gaspee.  The  first  occurred  in  1770, 
almost  simultaneously  with  the  repeal  of  the  odious 
taxes.  The  sons  of  Hutchinson  were  believed  to  be 
selling  tea  contrary  to  public  policy  and  agreement,  as 
the  revenue  figures  proved  that  many  other  Boston  mer- 
chants were  doing,  and  riotous  demonstrations  were 
made  before  their  door.  The  ubiquitous  red-coats  were 
drawn  up  within  their  barracks,  ready  for  action.  In 
the  first  general  tumult  a child  was  killed,  though  no 
shots  were  fired.  There  was  an  imposing  but  quiet 
funeral  procession,  and  the  citizens,  under  a calm  ex- 
terior, gradually  forged  their  anger  to  a white  heat,  un- 
til a fancied  insult  in  the  refusal  to  a soldier  of  work  at 
the  rope-walk  exasperated  the  troops  in  equal  measure. 
There  were  gatherings,  insults,  and  alarms  on  both 
sides,  until  finally  a soldier  was  struck  and  the  ever  grow- 
ing rumor  came  to  the  barracks  in  a false  announce- 
ment that  a sentinel  had  been  killed.  A corporal  and  six 
men  with  fixed  bayonets  sallied  forth  and  fired.  Three 
citizens  were  killed,  two  more  mortally  wounded,  and 
six  injured  by  the  volley.  The  excitement  was  so  in- 
tense that  on  the  representations  of  Samuel  Adams  the 
governor  yielded,  the  city  was  at  last  evacuated,  and  the 
regiments  withdrawn  to  Castle  William  in  the  harbor. 
The  commanding  officer  was  tried  and  acquitted  with 
due  legal  form,  being  actually  defended  at  the  instance 
of  Samuel  Adams  by  two  young  patriots,  John  Adams 
and  Josiah  Quincy  ; two  soldiers  were  convicted  of  man- 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  REVOLUTION  159 

slaughter,  branded,  and  set  free.  Quiet  was  thus  restored 
with  suspicious  promptness,  but  the  name  of  “ mas- 
sacre,” by  which  these  events  were  designated  through- 
out the  colonies,  is  indicative  of  a sensation  incommen- 
surate with  the  facts.  There  wTere  other  conflicts  be- 
tween the  populace  and  the  military,  especially  those 
about  the  noted  Liberty  Tree  in  New  York,  but  none  so 
fatal  as  the  one  described. 

There  had  been  no  reform  in  the  government  of  North 
Carolina,  and  under  Tryon  the  extortion  of  sheriffs,  ac- 
companied as  of  old  the  malfeasance  of  cor- 
rupt  judges.  Charges  were  framed  on  any  on  the  Aia- 
trivial  pretext  against  those  farmers  who  had  mance‘ 
been  connected  with  the  old  regulators,  and  representa- 
tive men  were  seized  and  imprisoned  without  trial  at  New- 
Berne.  At  last  the  people  rose  again,  and  in  a meeting 
numbering  upwards  of  twelve  hundred  armed  men  for- 
mulated their  grievances  and  demanded  redress.  Tryon, 
with  disciplined  troops  of  about  equal  number,  marched 
to  suppress  the  movement.  He  was  met  on  May  16th, 
1771,  under  a flag  of  truce,  by  the  popular  leaders — men 
like  James  Hunter  and  Benjamin  Merrill — noted  every- 
where for  moderation  and  integrity.  But  he  refused  to 
parley  and  demanded  unconditional  surrender.  A battle 
ensued,  in  which  the  undisciplined  backwoodsmen  stub- 
bornly and  gallantly  resisted  for  two  hours,  but  the  end 
was  a rout.  Twenty  were  killed  and  many  were  taken  pris- 
oners, while  nine  of  the  king’s  army  were  killed  and 
twenty  wounded.  Of  the  prisoners  one  was  hanged  in 
chains  as  an  outlaw,  six  after  trial  met  the  same  fate.  All 
the  best  lands  were  confiscated  to  the  crown.  As  a con- 
sequence disloyalty  spread  apace  ; the  counties  of  Orange 
and  Mecklenburg  were  especially  imbued  with  a patriot- 
ism never  again  quenched.  Again  bands  of  angry  and 
disheartened  frontiersmen  crossed  the  mountains  into 


160  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


Tennessee  to  prepare  against  the  day  of  reckoning  a 
commonwealth  embittered  against  England  as  few  oth- 
ers were. 

The  Gaspee  was  an  armed  English  schooner  which 
guarded  the  coast  of  Rhode  Island,  a region  notorious 
Burning  of  the  f°r  successful  evasion  of  the  revenue  laws. 

Gaspee.  Commanded  by  a bully,  it  committed  while 
on  its  cruises  many  illegal  acts  of  destruction  to  the  prop- 
erty of  the  natives.  Formal  complaints  to  the  authorities 
at  Boston  were  answered  by  unqualified  approval  of  these 
depredations.  On  June  9th,  1772,  the  clever  skipper  of 
the  Providence  packet,  which  the  king’s  officer  proposed 
to  overhaul  and  search,  drew  the  cutter,  by  an  act  of 
skilful  daring,  into  shoal  water  where  she  stranded.  The 
following  night  a large  party  of  disguised  men  boarded 
her,  and  after  a conflict  in  which  the  commander  was 
wounded,  seized  and  landed  him  and  his  crew,  setting 
fire  at  the  same  time  to  the  vessel.  The  officers  of  the 
law  were  powerless  to  discover  the  assailants. 

Local  pride  has  held  up  each  of  these  events  as  the 
first  important  conflict  in  the  struggle  for  liberty,  but 
Effects  of  op-  whether  it  was  the  Calvinistic  Puritan  of  the 

pression.  North,  or  the  Calvinistic  Covenanter  of  the 
South  whose  blood  was  first  shed  matters  little.  The 
facts  in  each  case  show  that  the  uprising  was  against 
oppression,  not  against  England.  The  affair  on  the  Ala- 
mance was  as  considerable  as  that  at  Lexington  and  of 
the  same  nature,  although  its  consequences  were  not  so 
immediate  or  momentous.  Religious  Calvinism,  how- 
ever, was  rapidly  undergoing  a transformation  into  a 
political  doctrine,  which  was  destined  to  permeate  the 
whole  people  as  the  dogmatic  side  never  could  nor 
did. 

In  spite  of  these  occurrences  there  was  an  outward 
appearance  of  reconciliation.  The  powerful  mercantile 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  REVOLUTION  161 


society  in  the  great  towns  was  active  and  enterprising, 
but  luxurious  and  socially  ambitious.  Means  were  found 
even  in  Boston  to  revive  trade.  New  York,  Failure  of 
already  the  commercial  metropolis,  felt  its  rnt0“ t i on 

social  importance  increased  by  the  presence  agreements, 
of  the  officers,  and,  knowing  how  the  non-importation 
agreements  were  disregarded  by  New  England,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  Virginia,  formally  revoked  them.  The  conduct 
of  New  York  was  open  and  honorable  ; but  it  was  felt  by 
many  to  be  a serious  concession  and  reprobated  accord- 
ingly. When  the  news  reached  Princeton  a body  of 
patriot  students  forced  the  hangman  to  burn  a copy  of 
the  resolutions.  No  means  exist  of  determining  exactly 
what  youths  stood  about  the  fire.  But  the  four  classes 
then  in  college  enrolled  among  their  numbers  names  of 
men  who  afterward  gained  the  highest  distinction  in 
American  affairs,  five  who  afterward  sat  in  the  convention 
which  framed  the  Constitution,  and  one,  James  Madison, 
who  became  President  of  the  United  States.  Philadel- 
phia, like  Boston,  stood  in  awe  of  her  radicals  ; but  the 
period  was  one  of  outward  calm  and  prosperity  for  her  j 
as  well.  Beneath  the  surface,  however,  the  leaven  of  dis- 
content was  at  work,  and  the  disorganization  of  English 
administration  went  on  to  completion. 

In  Massachusetts  Samuel  Adams  completed  a perfect 

revolutionary  system  in  the  establishment  of  extra  legal 

committees  of  correspondence  between  the 

towns,  through  which  the  remotest  districts  of  correspon- 
. 1 dence. 

were  instructed  in  tae  legal  aspects  of  the 
conflict  between  legislature  and  governor,  and  united  in 
harmonious  support  of  his  agitation.  He  put  a new 
stone  on  the  edifice  of  independence  by  his  famous  docu- 
ment, “Bights  of  the  Colonies,”  issued  in  1772,  and  read 
from  north  to  south.  The  legislature  of  Virginia  was 
the  first  to  assemble  after  its  appearance.  In  extension 
11 


162  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


of  Adams’s  scheme  it  organized  a committee  of  corre- 
spondence with  the  other  colonial  assemblies,  and  sug- 
gested the  plan  as  worthy  of  adoption  by  all.  One  by 
one,  as  they  were  summoned  by  the  governors,  their 
first  act  wTas  to  follow  the  example  of  the  Old  Dominion. 
The  consequences  were  doubly  important,  because  the 
royal  officials  were  now  no  longer  the  colonial  represen- 
tatives in  the  intervals  between  sessions,  and  the  moral 
effect  of  proroguing  the  legislatures  was  neutralized, 
while  at  the  same  time  the  machinery  for  united  action 
was  not  only  erected  but  set  in  motion.  The  contagion 
of  firmness  and  enthusiasm  spread  everywhere  through 
the  new  channels. 

Before  long  evidence  began  to  appear  that  the  old 
forms  were  in  entire  collapse.  What  order  there  was  in 
Final  col-  Massachusetts  resulted  from  the  influence  of 
niaf 6 adminis-  the  committee  ; in  both  North  and  South 
tration.  Carolina  a dead-lock  between  governors  and 
legislatures  resulted  in  anarchy,  and  in  the  former  there 
arose  the  self-constituted  republic  of  Watauga,  which 
was  the  only  district  of  the  State  where  justice  was 
administered.  In  defiance  of  ministerial  control,  for 
though  Hillsborough  had  given  place  to  Lord  Dartmouth 
there  was  no  break  in  the  former’s  colonial  policy,  the 
whole  West  was  explored  and  many  settlements  made. 
Connecticut,  with  a charter  for  lands  stretching  away  to 
the  Pacific,  seized  the  Wyoming  Valley.  The  regions 
about  Lakes  George  and  Champlain,  and  the  contiguous 
portions  of  the  northern  Connecticut  Valley,  threw  off  the 
government  of  New  York  entirely,  and  rendered  obedi- 
ence only  to  committees  of  their  own  people. 

During  the  years  from  1770  to  1773  American  affairs 
received  but  little  attention  in  Parliament.  Lord  North 
was  successful  as  premier  in  many  directions,  especially 
in  keeping  peace  with  Spain.  Wilkes  and  the  North 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  REVOLUTION  163 


Briton  wrought,  as  lias  been  said,  a most  important  con- 
stitutional revolution  as  to  the  freedom  of  the  press 
and  the  publicity  of  parliamentary  debate, 
and  quidnuncs  were  busy  with  the  identity  tionaUhanges 
of  “ Junius.”  The  colonial  empire  in  India  m Ens,and- 
was  daily  winning  ground,  and  the  nation  as  a whole 
temporarily  forgot  the  need  for  reform,  the  old  methods 
being  successful,  the  prime  minister  capable,  and  his  ma- 
jority secure. 

But  in  1773  occurred  an  incident  to  which,  more  than 
any  other,  English  historians  persistently  attribute  the 
final  rupture  with  the  colonies.  Benjamin  Benjamin 
Franklin  was  now  a man  in  his  seventieth  Franklin, 
year,  and  had  long  enjoyed  a world-wide  reputation  as 
philosopher  and  sage.  Kant  called  him  the  modern 
Prometheus.  For  nearly  a quarter  of  a century  he  had 
been  the  advocate  of  good  feeling  between  the  English 
at  home  and  their  kinsfolk  in  America.  He  was  loyal  to 
the  heart,  and  was  resident  in  London  as  the  agent  of 
four  colonies,  Massachusetts,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey, 
and  Georgia,  Edmund  Burke  holding  a like  office  for 
New  York.  Franklin’s  efforts  to  mould  English  opinion 
were  made,  therefore,  from  the  vantage-ground  of  both 
personal  reputation  and  official  dignity.  Yet  they  were 
strangely  abortive,  and  before  long  he  came  into  posses- 
sion of  evidence  that  they  were  thwarted  by  influential 
persons  at  home. 

The  fact  was  that  Hutchinson,  Oliver,  and  Paxton  had 
long  been  in  communication  with  Grenville  through  the 
intermediation  of  his  private  secretary,  Whate  • The  Hntchin- 
ley.  Franklin  obtained  copies  of  this  corre-  son  letters- 
spondence  by  means  which  he  never  divulged,  com- 
municated it  to  Lord  Dartmouth,  and  by  permission  of 
the  consignor  forwarded  it  also  to  Samuel  Adams,  the 
Speaker  of  the  Massachusetts  Assembly,  by  whom  it  was 


164  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


read  to  the  legislature.  A tempest  of  popular  feeling 
arose  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  In  America  the  im- 
mediate removal  of  both  Hutchinson  and  Oliver  was  de- 
manded, but  “ resentment  against  England  was  abated  ” 
when  it  was  known  who  were  the  “authors  of  their 
grievances.”  In  England  Eranklin  was  stigmatized  as 
underhanded  and  dishonorable.  He  had  uttered  no 
word  of  complaint  on  the  publication  of  the  letters,  he 
made  no  retort  to  the  insults  except  to  exculpate  all 
others,  and  declare  that  he  alone  had  obtained  and  for- 
warded the  documents.  The  rumor  of  the  day  asserted 
that  Temple  had  purloined  them  from  Whateley’s  broth- 
er, executor  of  his  estate. 

In  January,  1774,  Franklin  was  summoned  before  the 
Privy  Council  to  be  tried,  nominally  in  regard  to  the 

petition  he  had  presented  for  the  removal  of 
His  conduct.  , , , ^ . . 

the  men  regarded  in  America  as  conspirators, 
but  really  to  brand  him  with  dishonor  in  securing  the  evi- 
dence of  Hutchinson’s  double-dealing.  Passions  had  been 
more  and  more  inflamed,  and  the  appearance  of  Franklin 
before  the  Council  brought  together  the  most  famous 
men  of  the  time.  He  was  compared  by  the  prosecutor 
to  Sejanus,  the  tool  of  Tiberius,  and  insulted  by  charges 
that  he  was  conspiring  to  secure  Hutchinson’s  place  by 
secret  fraud.  Franklin’s  counsel  were  overawed  by  the 
effrontery  of  attack  and  the  applauding  consent  of  the 
assemblage.  Their  replies  were  ineffective,  and  the  im- 
passiveness of  the  accused,  conscious  of  his  own  recti- 
tude, left  on  the  public  an  impression  that  not  having  re- 
sented the  intemperate  language  of  his  accusers  he  must 
have  been  guilty. 

Even  in  the  cold  perspective  of  history  he  is  still 
stigmatized  in  England  as  revengeful  and  base,  as  shar- 
ing in  this  dishonorable  action  with  Grenville,  Towns- 
hend,  and  North,  the  guilt  of  bringing  on  the  English 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  REVOLUTION  165 


race  the  disaster  of  separation.  It  is  unfortunately  true 

that  Poor  Richard’s  philosophy  is  ruthlessly  utilitarian, 

but  it  is  neither  incredible  nor  unlikely  that  Frani-lin 

the  aged  statesman,  confident  of  the  judgment  before  the 
. ° . J ° . Council. 

which  posterity  would  pronounce  upon  his  life 
and  work,  simply  despised  the  low  violence  of  his  assail- 
ants, and  shielded  in  his  own  silence  the  more  vulnerable 
character  of  some  high-born  and  hasty  friend  who  had  in 
a weak  moment,  and  with  good  motives,  overstepped  the 
bounds  of  social  morality.  His  course  when  once  in  pos- 
session of  the  letters  seemed  clearer  perhaps  to  him 
than  it  now  does  to  us.  It  was  a time  pregnant  with  mo- 
mentous issues  ; these  communications  were  between 
officials  on  questions  affecting  the  public  welfare  ; if 
the  Speaker  of  the  Massachusetts  house  had  used  them  in 
America  without  formal  publicity  the  traditions  of  di- 
plomacy would  not  have  been  violated  and  great  good 
would  have  resulted.  Let  us  waive  the  nice  point  of 
honor  as  a lapse  due  to  human  weakness,  but  resent  as 
paltry  and  absurd  the  charge  that  a great  man  committed 
to  a policy  of  conciliation,  of  which  he  was  the  ablest 
defender,  shares  in  any  degree  the  responsibilities  of  a 
blinded  people  led  by  an  administration  obstinate,  haugh- 
ty, and  revolutionary  in  other  matters  as  in  this. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


RESISTANCE  TO  OPPRESSION— 1773-1774 

The  Tea  Tax — Resistance  to  Importation — Boston  Resorts  to  Force 
— Lord.  North  Retaliates — The  Boston  Port  Act — Changes  in 
the  Massachusetts  Charter — The  Quebec  Act— American  Tories 
and  Patriots — Respective  Propositions  of  New  York  and  New 
England — The  “Continental  ” Movement — Passive  Resistance 
of  New  England — Movement  to  Convene  a Congress — Alexan- 
der Hamilton — Character  of  the  Delegations— Royal  Officials 
Menaced — The  Savage  to  Fight  against  the  Americans — The 
First  Continental  Congress — Dramatic  Opening — Last  Appeal 
for  Justice — Two  Assertions  of  Sovereignty — Significance  of 
the  Fight  at  Point  Pleasant. 

During  the  years  1768  and  1769  English  trade  with  • 
America  had  diminished  by  seven  hundred  thousand 
pounds,  but  the  violation  of  the  non-impor- 

ThG  tiQQi  t&X 

tation  agreements  had  somewhat  restored  it 
in  the  following  years,  and  a policy  was  now  adopted  in 
England  which  it  was  hoped  would  entirely  destroy  those 
agreements,  restore  trade  by  further  lowering  the  price 
of  tea,  and  leave  untouched  the  principle  of  parliamentary 
supremacy  which  the  king  foolishly  reiterated  in  a proc- 
lamation. The  East  India  Company  was  to  export  its 
teas  to  America  free  of  English  tax  and  subject  only  to 
the  old  threepenny  duty  in  the  ports  of  entry.  The 
principle  thus  saved  they  were  to  have  a drawback  of  the 
tax  collected. 

In  1773  cargoes  were  accordingly  despatched  to  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Charleston,  and  Boston,  and  consign- 


RESISTANCE  TO  OPPRESSION 


167 


ees  were  designated  to  receive  them.  The  agitation 
began  in  Philadelphia,  where  a mass  meeting  was  held 
on  October  18th,  to  denounce  this  new  at- 
tempt in  both  principle  and  detail,  and  to  de-  to  importa- 
mand  the  resignation  of  the  company’s  agents.  tl0n' 

They  promptly  complied,  and  when  the  vessel  arrived  in 
the  Delaware,  on  Christmas-day,  it  was  stopped,  and  on 
the  twenty-eighth  the  captain  sailed  back  to  England.  In 
Charleston  the  tea  was  landed  but  was  seized  by  the  col- 
lector and  stored  in  damp  cellars,  where  it  rotted.  In 
New  York  the  Sons  of  Liberty  formed  a vigilance  com- 
mittee, secured  the  resignation  of  the  Commissioners, 
organized  bands  of  “ Mohawks  ” for  resistance  if  neces- 
sary and  ordered  the  harbor  pilots  not  to  bring  the  tea 
ship  above  Sandy  Hook.  It  was  promptly  dispatched 
on  its  return  journey  as  soon  as  it  came  within  hail. 

The  measures  taken  in  Boston  were  less  immediately 
effective.  Mass  meetings  were  held  and  the  Philadelphia 
resolutions  adopted,  but  the  consignees  would  Boston  resorts 
not  resign.  Committees  for  resistance  were  to  force, 
organized  and  post-riders  to  communicate  with  neighbor- 
ing towns  were  appointed.  When  the  first  ship  arrived, 
on  November  28th,  the  owner  consented  to  a short  delay 
and  a public  meeting  resolved  that  it  must  return.  Both 
owner  and  master  were  willing,  but  the  revenue  officers 
and  consignee  insisted  that  she  could  not  clear  with  the 
tea  on  board,  and  that,  in  accordance  with  custom,  the 
owners  must  land  it.  Meantime  two  other  vessels,  each 
with  a partial  cargo  of  the  same  commodity,  had  threaded 
the  tortuous  and  difficult  channel  of  the  harbor.  Return 
was  impossible  in  the  face  of  the  English  guardships 
anchored  below  and  all  three  lay  beside  the  quays.  Day 
and  night  a citizens’  patrol  prevented  any  discharge  of 
cargo,  and  according  to  law  the  ships  were  liable  to  seiz- 
ure within  twenty  days  if  not  previously  unloaded  accord- 


168  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


ing  to  due  form.  On  December  16th  there  was  a meeting 
in  the  old  South  church  of  several  thousand  excited  citi- 
zens, discussing  the  situation  and  waiting  the  event.  The 
owner  of  the  vessel  which  first  arrived  had  vainly  sought 
the  governor’s  permission  to  withdraw  his  ship  and  re- 
turned after  dark  at  a quarter  to  six  with  the  announce- 
ment of  his  failure.  A preconcerted  signal  was  given, 
some  forty  or  fifty  men  disguised  as  Mohawk  Indians 
sprang  from  their  ambush  near  by  and,  followed  by 
the  interested  assemblage,  set  out  for  the  wharves.  In 
the  presence  of  almost  the  whole  populace  the  tea  ships 
were  boarded  and  all  the  tea,  some  three  hundred  chests, 
flung  broadcast  over  the  water.  There  was  no  rioting 
and  no  injury  to  any  other  property. 

The  spoken  defiance  of  the  other  colonies  had  been 
quite  as  efficient  as  the  combination  of  threats  and  force 
Lord  North  which  Boston  was  compelled  to  resort,  but 

retaliates.  Lor(j  North  launched  the  first  retaliatory  and 
punitive  measure  against  that  city,  which  drew  the  open- 
ing bolts  of  wrath  on  itself  as  having  in  English  eyes 
now  reached  a climax  of  which  former  instances  of 
turbulence  and  rebellion  had  been  but  steps.  English 
opinion,  as  far  at  least  as  it  found  expression  in  Parlia- 
ment, supported  Lord  North  in  his  measures.  There 
was  an  opposition  few  in  numbers  but  strong  in  brains, 
led  by  Fox  and  supported  in  the  main  bv  Burke. 
Tucker,  Dean  of  Gloucester,  and  Cartwright,  destined  to 
carry  great  reforms  in  his  own  land,  were  foremost 
among  the  few  in  private  life  who  understood  the  ten- 
dency of  American  affairs  and  favored  it. 

The  first  of  Lord  North’s  bills  was  the  Boston  Port 
Act,  which  closed  the  harbor  until  indemnity  for  the  tea 
there  destroyed  should  be  paid  and  the  king  be  satisfied 
that  thereafter  the  city  would  obey  the  laws.  The  de- 
mand for  indemnity  was  fair  but  the  indefinite  claim  of 


RESISTANCE  TO  OPPRESSION 


169 


obedience  was  not  only  infamous  in  itself  but,  as  Burke 
said,  punished  the  innocent  with  the  guilty.  After  the 
enactment  of  this  law  there  w7as  a temporary  The  Boston 
revulsion  of  feeling,  for  a bill  to  repeal  the  Port  AtL 
tax  on  tea  met  with  substantial  support,  although  it 
finally  failed.  Burke  pleaded  with  impassioned  oratory, 
but  in  vain,  that  peace  would  be  secure  if  England  would, 
by  a return  to  her  old  and  tried  principles,  permit 
America  to  tax  herself  and  to  be  bound  in  Parliament 
only  by  laws  of  trade  such  as  had  always  been  passed 
and  obeyed. 

North’s  second  bill  was  a virtual  abrogation  of  the 

Massachusetts  charter.  The  council  of  twenty-eight  had 

been  hitherto  elected  every  year  in  joint  ses- 

J y Changes  m 

sion  of  the  assembly.  The  king  might  now  theMassachu- 
" cii  set"t/S  charter 

appoint  the  whole  body  to  any  number,  from 
twelve  to  thirty-six,  and  remove  them  at  pleasure.  The 
men  so  appointed  were  designated  mandamus  coun- 
cillors. Thereafter  town-meetings  could  be  held  only 
by  permission  of  the  governor  and  for  the  sole  purpose 
of  electing  officers.  Sheriffs  were  to  return  all  juries, 
and  were  to  be  named  by  the  governor  and  hold  office 
during  his  pleasure.  The  third  bill  was  really  a device 
of  the  king’s,  and  it  is  said  that  the  ministry  was  con- 
fused and  shamefaced  in  presenting  it.  It  ordained 
that  magistrates,  revenue  officers,  or  other  officials  in- 
dicted in  Massachusetts  for  capital  offences  were  to  be 
tried  either  in  Nova  Scotia  or  Great  Britain. 

Another  measure  made  legal  the  billeting  of  troops, 
against  which  Boston  had  hitherto  striven  with  success, 
and  a fifth,  known  as  the  Quebec  Act,  though  The  Quebec 
depriving  that  province  of  the  right  of  ha-  Act- 
beas  corpus,  restored  the  French  customary  law  (coutume 
de  Paris),  established  Roman  Catholicism  as  the  state 
religion,  and  by  extending  its  boundaries  to  the  Ohio 


170  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


and  Mississippi,  shut  off  the  Northern  English  Colonies 
from  westward  extension.  This  was  intended  as  an 
arbitrary  settlement  of  a vexed  question.  The  Puritans, 
however,  chose  to  draw  little  distinction  between  the 
prelacy  of  the  Church  of  England  and  that  of  the  Church 
of  Rome,  and  exclaimed  that  the  next  step  would  be 
the  establishment  among  them  of  English  episcopacy. 
These  laws  were  enacted  by  majorities  varying  between 
three  to  one  and  four  to  one,  and  to  secure  their  en- 
forcement Hutchinson  was  called  to  England  and  the 
two  offices  of  civil  governor  of  Massachusetts  and  com- 
mander-in chief  of  the  king’s  forces  in  North  America 
were  united  in  the  person  of  Gage,  who  was  to  garrison 
Boston  with  four  new  regiments.  He  was  accordingly 
dispatched  and  entered  the  harbor  in  May,  1774.  His 
first  act  was  to  prorogue  the  assembly,  which  was  to  meet 
again  at  Salem,  the  new  provincial  capital,  after  the  en- 
forcement of  the  Port  Bill  on  June  7th. 

Such  a course  could  have  but  one  effect  in  America. 
The  moderate  men  were  no  longer  united.  Even  in 
, . Boston  there  were  some  who  remained  sub- 

American 

tories  and  pa-  missive  as  well  as  loyal  under  the  lash.  They 
and  their  sympathizers  elsewhere  lost  all  in- 
fluence, and  under  the  designation  of  Loyalists  or  Toi’ies 
suffered  obloquy,  and  at  times  even  ostracism,  for  their 
opinions.  The  radicals,  at  the  other  extreme,  were  tri- 
umphant. In  New  York  the  committee  of  correspond- 
ence had  hitherto  been  despised  by  the  upper  classes. 
It  was  composed  exclusively  of  “ Sons  of  Liberty,”  most 
of  whom  were  mechanics  and  shopkeepers  belonging  to 
the  Church  of  Scotland.  If  North  had  hoped  to  isolate 
Boston  for  punishment  and  curry  favor  with  the  other 
seaport  towns  by  overlooking  their  equally  successful 
defiance  he  failed  miserably.  So  universal  was  the  sym- 
pathy for  Boston  in  New  York  that  the  existing  commit- 


RESISTANCE  TO  OPPRESSION 


171 


tee,  which  the  Royalists  had  stigmatized  as  the  “ Pres- 
byterian Junto,”  resolved  to  take  advantage  of  the  rising- 
tide  to  blend  all  classes  for  united  action.  With  rare 
magnanimity  they  disbanded,  their  last  official  act  being 
a proposal  for  a general  congress,  which  they  sent  to 
Boston.  Immediately  there  was  formed  a new  com- 
mittee, fifty  in  numbei’,  embracing  all  shades  of  feeling, 
and  led  by  John  Jay.  The  chairman  was  a graduate  of 
King’s  College,  which  gave  to  the  cause  of  American 
freedom  not  only  that  distinguished  man,  but  one  of 
even  larger  mind,  Alexander  Hamilton.  At  that  time  the 
former  favored  continued  dependence  if  accompanied  by 
liberty.  The  enlarged  and  influential  committee  carried 
with  it  the  undivided  approval  of  the  colony  in  adopting 
as  its  own  the  proposition  made  by  its  predecessor  for  a 
general  congress. 

Hitherto  New  England  had  proposed  nothing  better 

to  the  country  than  an  entire  suspension  of  trade.  For 

a time  the  two  schemes  were  before  the  peo- 

pie  m apparent  conflict.  The  merchants  of  propositions 
A # of  New  York 

Philadelphia  would  not  listen  to  the  latter.  and  New  Eng- 

With  statesmanlike  policy  and  rare  tact  the 

now  famous  Dickinson,  known  and  respected  for  both 

the  power  and  moderation  of  his  writings,  directed  the 

uneasy  and  lukewarm  disposition  of  his  great  province  to 

the  New  York  proposition.  Connecticut,  too,  was  hearty 

in  her  acceptance  of  it,  while  New  Jersey  adopted  both 

plans,  to  suspend  trade  and  send  delegates  to  a congress. 

Baltimore  merchants,  tired  of  supplication,  thought 

“ something  more  suitable  would  suit  their  purpose,”  and 

Maryland  fell  into  line.  South  Carolina  resolved  that 

“ the  whole  great  continent  must  be  animated  by  one 

great  soul,  . . . and  all  Americans  must  resolve  to 

stand  by  one  another  even  unto  death.” 

As  early  as  17G8  the  English  in  the  colonies  who  up- 


172  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


held  the  principles  of  the  English  revolution  called  them* 
selves  American  Whigs.  In  time  the  title  supplanted 

The  “Con  Englishmen,  and  ere  long,  from  the 

tinentai”  constant  use  of  the  phrase  “ the  whole  con- 
tinent” to  express  general  action,  came  the 
fine  adjective  so  long  significant  of  union—  continental. 
The  Virginia  legislature  on  May  24th  ordered  the  day  on 
which  the  Port  Act  was  to  take  effect  to  be  observed  as  a 
fast-day,  to  pray  for  the  intervention  of  God  to  avert  “ the 
dreadful  calamity  which  threatened  their  civil  rights  and 
the  evils  of  civil  war.”  Complaisant  as  Lord  Botetourt 
had  been,  even  he  had  felt  compelled  in  1769  to  dismiss 
the  legislature  ; the  imperious  Dunmore,  his  successor, 
was  no  less  prompt  in  1774,  but  with  a precedent  before 
them,  well  known  and  admired,  members  met  at  once  in 
a room  near  by,  with  their  Speaker  in  the  chair,  and  voted 
for  a congress.  The  committee  of  correspondence  was 
left  in  charge,  and  on  May  29tli  it  called  a convention 
to  elect  delegates.  Conventions,  local  self-government, 
war — such  acts  and  thoughts  showed  how  near  was 
revolution.  The  influence  of  the  Old  Dominion  was  so 
great  that  her  firmness  put  an  end  to  indecision  every- 
where. North  Carolina  never  wavered  and  followed  the 
example. 

It  was  the  thirteenth  of  May  when  the  Port  Act  reached 
Boston,  on  June  1st  it  was  put  into  force  ; on  the  seventh 
the  assembly  met  at  Salem,  with  Samuel  Adams 

Passive  re- 

s i s t a n c e of  as  Speaker.  The  other  colonies  had  observed 
New  England.  fapx]  day  of  tyranny  as  a solemn  fast.  In 

Philadelphia  the  bells  were  muffled  and  tolled,  all  shops 
except  those  of  the  Quakers  being  shut ; in  Virginia  the 
churches  were  filled  with  mourning  worshippers  ; in  the 
middle  and  southern  provinces  the  air  was  charged  with 
a spirit  of  resistance.  But  in  northern  New  England 
there  seemed  an  inexplicable  paralysis.  Pdiode  Island 


RESISTANCE  TO  OPPRESSION 


173 


was  making  ready,  but  bad  taken  no  irrevocable  step. 
New  Hampshire  was  reticent  and  cold,  and  the  Boston 
committee  merely  drew  up  a covenant  to  cease  inter- 
course with  Great  Britain  after  August  1st.  When  the 
legislature  met,  its  opening  resolutions  were  all  for  con- 
ciliation. Meantime  there  was  no  thought  of  active  re- 
sistance, or  any  but  legal  measures,  though  the  mandamus 
councillors  had  been  appointed  and  were  showing  them- 
selves active  and  subservient  to  the  crown,  though  the 
number  of  the  garrison  was  daily  growing,  and  the  lead- 
ers of  patriot  opinion  were  proscribed.  Gage  actually 
entered  the  harbor  with  an  order  in  his  possession  to 
arrest  Samuel  Adams,  Hancock,  and  others,  but  he  had 
not  dared  to  execute  it. 

At  last,  on  June  loth,  the  first  move  in  the  second 
stage  of  organization  was  made.  The  Rhode  Island  As- 
sembly had  long  been  in  close  communica- 
tion with  that  of  Massachusetts  to  comfort  to"  convene  a 
and  support  them  in  the  furnace  of  affliction  congress- 
which  had  been  doubly  heated  for  that  perplexed  but 
determined  commonwealth.  The  decisive  action  of  cue 
followed  close  on  that  of  the  other  in  the  active  choice  of 
delegates  to  a congress,  Rhode  Island  voting  on  the  15th, 
Massachusetts  on  the  17th.  Maryland,  ignorant  as  yet 
of  their  work,  and  therefore  with  equal  courage,  followed 
on  the  22d.  The  aristocratic  committee  of  New  York 
was  drawn  two  ways.  The  Delanceys,  whose  sway  had 
lasted  four  years,  had  recently  been  displaced  by  the 
Livingstons,  who  were  Presbyterian  and  republican. 
Jay  was  a relative  of  the  latter  family  by  marriage 
though  himself  a Huguenot.  The  influence  of  the  family 
connection  secured  a selection  of  delegates.  The  choice 
was  made  on  July  4th,  but  three  of  the  five  members 
were  distrusted  as  royalists  by  the  radical  patriots  who 
were  not  represented  at  all. 


174  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


The  latter  therefore  held  a mass-meeting  in  the  debates 
of  which  appeared  for  the  first  time  the  youth  who  was 
Alexander  destined  not  only  to  lead  the  opinion  of  the 
Hamilton,  great  commonweath  as  an  advocate  of  inde- 
pendence, but  who  later  enhanced  her  glory  by  the  sup- 
port which  he  gave  to  the  constitution.  He  was  then  a 
dark,  frail-looking  boy  of  fifteen,  who  had  been  born  of 
Scotch  parents  in  the  West  Indies  and  having  been  left 
an  orphan  had  found  his  way  to  New  York,  where  he  was 
a student  in  King’s  College. 

There  wTas  a certain  half-lieartedness  in  the  New  York 
delegation,  and  a hesitancy  amounting  almost  to  repul- 
sion in  that  of  Pennsylvania,  where  the 
the  cie'i  eg  a-  Quakers  longed  for  direct  government  by  the 
tions.  Crown  to  free  them  from  the  yoke  of  the  pro- 

prietors, and  the  Presbyterians,  fearing  an  Episcopal  es- 
tablishment. were  almost  the  only  patriots.  By  a sad 
mishap,  Dickinson,  their  leader,  was  at  first  left  out  of 
the  delegation.  He  changed  everything,  however,  when 
sent  a little  later  to  replace  an  original  member  who 
was  not  only  lukewarm  but  was  an  ardent  Tory  and 
had  been  suspected  of  being  a spy.  The  strongest  ardor 
was  shown  in  the  selection  of  able  and  patriotic  men  by 
New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  the  Carolinas,  and  Virginia. 
Many  of  the  colonies,  as  Massachusetts,  South  Carolina, 
and  Pennsylvania,  appointed  their  representatives  in  legal 
form  through  the  assembly.  Others,  as  New  Hampshire, 
New  Jersey,  and  Virginia,  preferred  to  send  theirs  from 
a voluntary  convention.  The  instructions  of  the  latter 
were  generally  more  radical  than  those  of  the  others,  and 
Virginia  seized  the  occasion  to  publish  a scathing  indict- 
ment against  England  in  regard  to  the  slave-trade.  It 
denounced  the  Government  as  preferring  “ the  immedi- 
ate advantage  of  a few  British  corsairs  to  the  lasting 
interest  of  the  American  states  and  to  the  rights  of 


RESISTANCE  TO  OPPRESSION 


175 


human  nature,  deeply  wounded  by  this  infamous  prac- 
tice.” 

Meantime  provocation  by  the  royal  officials  and  re- 
crimination by  the  populace  went  steadily  forward  in 
New  England  with  equal  step,  and  the  con-  Eoyal  offlcjals 
dition  of  affairs  grew  most  alarming.  Man-  menaced, 
damus  councillors  were  compelled  to  resign,  sometimes 
by  moral,  sometimes  by  physical  force.  The  judges 
were  not  allowed  to  sit.  Oliver,  the  chief  justice,  re- 
signed under  compulsion  and  there  were  threatening  as- 
semblies in  many  places  which  adopted  noteworthy  reso- 
lutions, calm  in  the  recital  of  rights  but  definite  in  tone. 
The  country  militia  began  to  arm  and  march  for  Boston. 
When  the  various  local  stores  of  powder  were  seized  by 
the  authorities  and  carried  to  the  castle,  Putnam  in  Con- 
necticut heard  a false  report  of  collisions  and  some 
twenty  thousand  armed  men  in  all  were  soon  moving. 

Gage  became  as  panic-stricken  as  his  predecessors, 
begged  for  a larger  force  and  shared  with  Oliver  the 
opprobrium  of  successfully  proposing  that  The  Bav- 
Canadians  and  Indians  should  be  used  as  “gain's t^he 
auxiliaries.  Others  had  previously  suggested  Americans, 
it,  but  so  far  without  success.  In  the  ensuing  conflict  the 
administration  in  their  desperation  set  loose  the  red 
cannibals,  for  such  the  Indian  was,  not  against  his  own 
kind,  as  in  the  old  French  and  Indian  war,  but  against 
the  frontiersman’s  defenceless  cabin  and  the  pioneer’s 
camp.  On  September  5th  the  British  began  to  fortify 
the  neck  which  connects  Boston  with  the  main-land. 

It  is  said  that  Cushing  and  Franklin  had  discussed  the 
possibility  of  a general  congress  in  1773,  and  Hancock 
proposed  one  in  March,  1774.  The  following  Dramatic 
May,  meetings  in  Providence,  Bhode  Island,  °pemug. 
and  in  the  city  of  New  York  voted  for  one  ; as  we  have 
seen,  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses  formally  proposed 


176  THE  FRENCH  "WAE  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

it  and  the  initiative  was  taken  by  Rhode  Island  and 
Massachusetts.  The  first  Continental  congress  met  on 
Monday  September  5th,  1774,  in  the  Carpenters’  Hall  of 
Philadelphia.  Eleven  colonies  were  fully  represented  : 
Delaware  partially,  having  three  for  the  lower  counties, 
and  Newcastle.  Georgia,  weak  and  distant,  sent  none, 
but  was  in  full  sympathy.  John  Adams  thought  that  of 
the  fifty-five  members  a third  were  American  Whigs,  a 
third  Tories,  and  the  rest  mongrel.  The  avowed  object 
was  “ the  union  of  Great  Britain  and  the  colonies  on  a 
constitutional  foundation.” 

The  voting  was  by  the  colonies,  because  the  relative 
importance  of  each  as  to  population  could  not  be  deter- 
mined. On  the  motion  of  Samuel  Adams,  the 
Conti nen-  extreme  Calvin istic  independent,  an  Episco- 
tai  congress.  papan  chaplain  was  chosen  to  open  the  meet- 
ings by  prayer,  and  the  proceedings  were  to  be  kept  se- 
cret, although  it  was  believed  that  Galloway  divulged 
them  during  his  membership.  The  opening  was  ren- 
dered dramatic  by  the  receipt  of  an  express  from  Put- 
nam with  the  false  news  of  a conflict.  Muffled  bells  were 
tolled,  dismay  and  sorrow  reigned  everywhere,  and  the 
clergyman,  finding  nothing  adequate  to  the  occasion  in 
his  liturgy,  burst  into  extempore  prayer.  The  deep  im- 
pression thus  made  was  not  entirely  dispelled  when  the 
facts  became  known. 

The  ensuing  debates  displayed  marked  disagreement 
as  to  the  essentials  of  united  action.  In  general  the 
Last  appeal  opinion  prevailed  that  extremes  should  be 
for  justice,  avoided,  that  a last  appeal  for  justice  should 
be  made  to  England,  and  that  there  should  be  no  assump- 
tion of  sovereignty,  although  no  member  seems  to  have 
wavered  in  the  determination  to  insist  as  an  ultimatum 
that  taxation  and  all  legislation  were  the  functions  of 
American  legislatures,  and  not  of  Parliament.  Accord- 


RESISTANCE  TO  OPPRESSION 


177 


ingly  their  petition  for  redress  was  to  the  king,  a very 
different  course  from  that  which  the  separate  colonies 
had  hitherto  taken.  Addresses  were  also  issued,  one  to 
the  people  of  the  colonies,  one  to  the  inhabitants  of  Que- 
bec, and  one  to  the  English  nation. 

Of  the  purely  deliberative  proceedings,  however,  by 
far  the  most  important  act  was  the  famous  declaration  of 
the  rights  of  the  colonies.  But  despite  the 
firmest  resolution  to  keep  within  the  avowed  tions  of  sover- 
limits,  two  measures  were  adopted  which  eiguty' 
presaged  the  future  and  sound  to  the  reader  of  our  time 
like  the  expression  of  a sovereign  will.  In  the  articles  of 
the  American  Association,  which  were  not  only  written 
but  authoritatively  sent  out  for  signatures,  is  a pro- 
hibition of  both  importation  and  exportation  in  com- 
merce with  Great  Britain  until  the  repeal  of  the  penal 
acts.  The  other  was  the  expressed  opinion  that  if  the 
acts  were  to  be  executed  by  force  all  America  ought  to 
support  the  inhabitants  of  Massachusetts  Bay  in  their 
opposition.  The  congress  adjourned  on  October  26  th, 
to  meet  again  the  following  year  if  necessary,  and  the 
members  returned  to  their  homes  feeling  undoubtedly 
that  war  was  not  far  distant.  The  utmost  activity  pre- 
vailed in  the  colonies  throughout  the  autumn.  Com- 
mittees of  correspondence  turned  into  committees  of 
safety  or  organized  them,  munitions  were  collected, 
the  militia  drilled,  and  every  community  instructed  as 
far  as  possible  in  the  art  of  warfare.  A system  of  ex- 
press riders  was  also  created  which  proved  of  inesti- 
mable advantage  in  the  dissemination  of  news. 

Far  in  the  distant  wilderness,  as  it  then  seemed,  events 
were  simultaneously  transpiring,  of  trivial  compass  in- 
deed, but  pregnant  with  future  union  and  independence. 
The  Quebec  Act  had  not  only  sought  to  re-establish 
under  English  protection  a French  empire  in  order  to 
12 


178  TIIE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

check  the  unruliness  of  the  colonies,  it  had  even  made 
settlement  in  the  north-west  territory  illegal.  But  there 
significance  was  already  in  existence  one  little  indepen- 
Po^nt'fieas-  commonwealth,  destined  never  to  come 
ant-  under  English  rule.  On  October  G,  1774, 

there  was  a skirmish  between  the  frontiersmen  and  the 
Shawnee  Indians  at  Point  Pleasant,  near  the  confluence 
of  the  Kanawha  with  the  Ohio  River.  The  victory  of 
the  former  was  a step  toward  the  formation  of  other  in- 
dependent communities  ; thenceforward  the  backwoods 
were  in  rebellion  and  settlers  must  find  an  American  ti- 
tle to  their  lands  if  they  were  to  have  any  at  all.  Already 
the  Ohio  Valley  and  other  attractive  districts  beyond 
the  Alleghenies  were  dotted  with  rude  hamlets  and  iso- 
lated cabins.  The  western  claims  of  the  colonies  had  in 
this  way  constantly  been  strengthened  ; now  the  intre- 
pidity of  their  kinsfolk  had  openly  defied  the  Quebec 
Act  and  welded  the  vanguard  at  least  into  indissoluble 
union  for  the  enforcement  of  their  one  comprehensive 
claim,  the  right  to  settlement. 


THE  NORTHERN  COLONIES 

ILLUSTRATING 


THE  FIRST-HALF  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 


CHAPTER  XV. 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  HOSTILITIES— 1774-1775 

Dissensions  in  Parliament  and  Cabinet — Chatham's  Plan  of  Con- 
ciliation— Burke  the  Friend  of  America — Duplicity  of  the 
King — War  Measures  of  the  Administration — Return  of  Frank- 
lin— Burke  on  the  Spirit  of  the  Constitution — Effect  of  the 
News  in  America— Approach  of  the  Crisis— The  Gathering  on 
Lexington  Green — The  Conflicts  at  Lexington  and  Concord — 
Retreat  of  the  English — Boston  Besieged  by  the  American 
Farmers — The  Colonies  Organize  for  Armed  Resistance — Over- 
throw of  the  Colonial  Governments — Seizure  of  Ticonderoga — 
War  Measures  of  Parliament  and  the  King — Attitude  of  Eu- 
rope. 

Another  general  election  in  England  returned  to  Par- 
liament a still  larger  majority  of  the  king’s  supporters. 
The  enforcement  of  the  penal  acts  was  the 
distinct  platform  of  the  Tories.  The  rent-  m 'Parliament 
nant  of  the  Whigs  could  not  agree.  There  and  Cabmet‘ 
was  a temporary  restoration  of  Chatham’s  vigor,  and 
Shelburne,  his  chief  support,  stood  firm  in  the  wise  lib- 
eralism which  he  held  but  could  not  make  popular. 
Rockingham  shone  in  the  reflection  of  Burke’s  splendid 
intellect,  but  such  was  the  strength  of  factions  that  he 
was  left  without  power  to  organize  into  compactness  the 
opposition,  which,  however,  was  in  another  way  quite  as 
distant  from  the  people  as  the  Tories,  and  like  its  rivals 
firmly  upheld  the  Declaratory  Act.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  king  and  North  were  often  at  variance.  The  latter 
continued  to  display  his  ingenuity  and  prevision.  At 


180  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

times  he  feebly  resisted  the  diseased  and  excited  activity 
of  his  sovereign,  but  he  never  failed  to  yield  at  the  wrong 
moment. 

The  session  stands  unsurpassed  in  parliamentary  an- 
nals for  eloquence.  Chatham  was  never  greater  as  a 
statesman  nor  as  an  orator  than  when  he  un- 
pian  of  recon-  folded  his  plan  for  conciliation — the  obnox- 
ious Acts  to  be  repealed,  the  troops  to  be  re- 
moved, the  colonies  to  tax  themselves.  Parliament,  as  of 
old,  to  confine  its  imperial  legislation  strictly  to  the 
regulation  of  trade.  It  fell  on  enraptured  ears  but  on 
hardened  minds.  Its  echoes  without  renewed  in  many 
hearts  the  old  English  sympathy  for  liberty  and  its  sup- 
porters. 

Once  again  also  the  merchants,  compelled  to  inactiv- 
ity by  the  suspension  of  trade,  began  to  discuss  the  folly 
of  measures  which  not  only  yielded  no  rev- 
fr/Wd  of  enues  to  lighten  their  burdens  but  must  be 
of  doubtful  constitutionality  when  men  like 
Chatham  advised  their  repeal.  The  habit  of  friendship 
for  the  colonies  was  strong  upon  Burke,  his  silvery  voice 
and  mellifluous  sentences  delivered  such  an  evdogium  on 
America  as  no  man  before  or  after  him,  no  voice  in  or 
out  of  England,  ever  pronounced  ; but  already  the  spell 
of  Cassandra  was  working  over  him  ; nor  could  his  mod- 
eration combat  the  insensate  radicalism  of  the  Tories. 
By  overwhelming  majorities  Chatham’s  plan  wTas  rejected 
and  a request  from  Franklin  for  a hearing  refused. 

On  February  9th,  1775,  Parliament  addressed  the  king 
in  support  of  the  penal  acts  ; he  replied  that  he  would 
Duplicity  of  eilf°rce  “ obedience  to  the  laws  and  the  au- 

the  king,  thority  of  the  supreme  legislature.”  Rock- 
ingham stigmatized  the  language  as  a declaration  of  war, 
and  without  the  precincts  of  Westminster  a stormy  in- 
dignation soon  arose  over  the  extreme  course  of  the  ad- 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  HOSTILITIES 


181 


ministration.  North  devised  and  the  king  unwillingly- 
consented  to  a seeming  compromise,  which  the  latter 
spoke  of  as  an  olive  branch.  They  proposed  that  if  any 
colony  would  promise  a satisfactory  contribution  for  the 
public  defence,  and  the  expenses  of  the  administration, 
Parliament  should  refrain  from  taxing  it.  The  dul- 
ness  of  the  majority  failed  at  first  to  apprehend  the 
meaning  of  so  specious  a suggestion,  and  nearly  over- 
threw the  ministry.  Nor  did  they,  even  when  the  excite- 
ment was  allayed,  quite  grasp  the  fact  that  the  new  bill 
was  intended  to  win  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  leav- 
ing the  patriots  of  New  England  and  Virginia  without 
their  powerful  support,  and  thus  destroying  the  force  of 
united  action. 

Any  possible  temptation  it  might  have  held  out  to 
moderate  and  still  loyal  men  like  Jay  and  Dickinson  was 
neutralized  by  declarations  that  no  concession 

J m War  meas- 

of  principle  would  be  made,  and  by  simultane-  ures  of  the  ad- 

■L  . ministration, 

ous  preparations  for  open  hostility  and  coer- 
cion. Ten  thousand  troops  were  to  be  massed  in  Bos- 
ton, and  in  place  of  the  uncertain  Gage,  who  was  now 
pleading  for  moderation,  Sir  William  Howe  was  to  be 
commander-in-chief,  with  Henry  Clinton  and  John  Bur- 
goyne  as  major-generals.  Instructions  were  issued  to 
intercept  any  munitions  of  war  destined  for  the  colonies. 
Public  opinion  in  England  was  to  be  aroused  against 
America  by  paid  agents,  among  whom  was  Dr.  Samuel 


Johnson. 

It  had  seemed  to  Franklin  that  a climax  was  reached 
when  the  bill  forbidding  the  New  England  colonies  to 
fish  on  the  Banks  was  seriously  debated.  It  Eeturnof 
passed  by  a vote  of  73  to  21.  He  knew  that  it  Fiailklin' 
was  preliminary  to  other  more  terrible  plans  of  coercion, 
to  the  organization  of  Indian  ravages  on  the  frontiers, 
and  of  servile  insurrection  against  the  Southern  slave- 


182  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


holders.  Accordingly,  while  these  final  measures  were 
being  taken  he  was  on  his  way  to  his  native  land.  What 
had  been  sneeringly  called  an  “ embassy  from  all  Amer- 
ica,” and  was  so  in  reality,  thus  came  to  a dismal  end. 

On  March  22d,  1775,  two  days  after  his  departure, 
Burke  made  another  plea  for  reconciliation,  declaring 
_ , that  the  colonists  were  but  living  according 

the  spirit  of  to  the  spirit  of  the  constitution,  showing  the 

the  constitu-  u 

tion.  same  virtue  as  that  of  which  Englishmen  at 

home  were  so  proud,  and  that  magnanimity  was  expedi  • 
ent.  For  three  hours  Parliament  heard  his  sane  and 
eloquent  words,  but  their  argument  was  without  re- 
sponse. The  land  for  which  he  pleaded  remained  in  ig- 
norance of  even  the  poor  effort  made  a little  later  by 
Lord  North,  for  the  information  received  prior  to  Lex- 
ington contained  nothing  of  it. 

News  travelled  so  slowiy  that  the  course  of  parlia- 
mentary action  had  been  imperfectly  understood  by  the 
Effect  or  the  exPec^an^  colonists,  but  they  readily  grasped 
new  sin  Am-  its  general  trend.  Local  and  general  con- 
ventions of  a representative  character  were 
held  to  discuss  the  deeds  of  the  Continental  Congress,  and 
to  appoint  delegates  for  another.  Every  possible  meas- 
ure for  the  accumulation  of  military  stores  and  the 
training  of  militia  was  taken.  Some  of  the  almanacs 
which  went  to  every  farmer’s  house  with  information  and 
amusement  contained  this  year  a recipe  for  making 
gunpowder.  The  occurrences  of  the  time  were  merely 
a logical  result  of  previous  obduracy,  strengthened 
now  by  the  attitude  of  this  latest  Parliament.  When  a 
royalist  sheriff  from  New  York  undertook  to  hold  a court 
at  Westminster,  in  what  is  now  Vermont,  the  rangers  of 
the  district,  known  as  Green  Mountain  Boys,  resisted,  and 
on  March  13tli  blood  was  shed.  There  was  a general  up- 
rising of  the  surrounding  country,  the  royalists  were 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  HOSTILITIES 


183 


captured  and  sent  into  Massachusetts  for  trial.  Ethan 
Allen,  the  ranger  captain,  sent  word  that  in  case  of  need 
he  was  ready  to  seize  Ticonderoga.  In  Virginia  the 
governor  seized  the  powder  stores  of  Williamsburg  and 
threatened  to  emancipate  the  slaves  ; the  people  stood 
firm  on  their  famous  Fairfax  declaration  and  went  on 
arming,  collecting  munitions,  and  organizing  a revolu- 
tionary government.  Among  the  substitute  delegates  to 
the  next  general  congress  appeared  the  name  of  Thomas 
Jeiferson. 

The  minute  men,  or  irregular  Massachusetts  militia, 
being  now  organized  and  equipped,  Gage,  in  boyish  bra- 
vado, sent  a brigade  to  march  out  from  Bos- 

’ D Approach 

ton  to  Jamaica  Plain  and  bach  as  a challenge.  of  the  crisis. 

The  grim  farmers  were  not  trapped,  but  their  represen- 
tatives in  convention  continued  the  series  of  sovereign 
acts  to  which  necessity  drove  them.  Dartmouth  College 
had  been  established  as  a school  for  the  youth  of  the  Six 
Nations,  missionaries  were  sent  out  by  it  into  the  north- 
west, to  counteract,  where  danger  was  most  imminent, 
the  Canadian  influences  which  were  instigating  the  Ind- 
ians to  active  hostilities  against  the  Americans.  The 
friendly  Stockbridge  Indians  were  also  won  to  mediate 
with  the  Mohawks  for  their  good-will. 

Such  events  may  be  contemptuously  dismissed  as  triv- 
ial acts  of  unruliness  when  viewed  singly  and  objectively. 
In  the  mass  they  evince  the  triumph  of  a prin- 

. , . ‘ . 1 . .,  The  grather- 

ciple  unwelcome  to  many,  perhaps  a majority  me  on  Lex- 
of  the  English-speaking  men  in  America.  Ington  Green- 
For  nine  long  years  the  people  waited,  impatiently  per- 
haps, but  they  endured,  none  the  less  loyally,  employing 
in  self-defence  the  weapons  of  peace,  self-denial  and 
legal  shrewdness.  Now  the  limit  was  reached.  In 
February,  when  the  cannon  stored  at  Salem  had  been 
seized,  a bloody  collision  was  prevented  by  compromise 


184  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


and  respect  for  the  Sabbath,  the  day  on  which  the  Eng- 
lish made  their  entrance.  There  was  no  later  news  from 
England  than  that  of  Parliament’s  vote  of  confidence  in 
the  king.  Similar  seizures  of  ammunition  were  being 
made  north  and  south,  no  change  of  heart  was  anywhere 
visible.  The  crisis  was  reached  in  an  attempt  as  petty  in 
itself  as  any  of  those  recorded.  The  momentous  conse- 
quences had  been  prepared  by  the  long  and  general  agi- 
tation which  produced  the  general  congress.  Armed 
resistance  had  been  frequent  enough,  and  was  often  suc- 
cessful ; the  next  instance  was  to  be  determinative,  be- 
cause there  was  behind  it  the  sentiment  of  a united  peo- 
ple. 

During  the  spring  meeting  of  the  Massachusetts  con- 
vention, which,  though  a voluntary  association  without 
The  conflicts  sanction,  was  both  dignified  and  effi- 

at  Lexington  cient,  trifling  stores  of  cannon,  provisions, 
and  Concord.  , J _ . 

and  powder  had  been  gathered  in  various 
places,  among  others  at  the  village  of  Concord,  distant 
from  Boston  twenty  miles,  about  six  hours’  march. 
The  provincial  assembly  adjourned  on  April  15th,  1775. 
In  the  night  of  the  eighteenth  an  expedition  consisting 
of  about  eight  hundred  grenadiers  and  light  infantry  set 
out  to  seize  the  little  arsenal.  The  country-side  was 
carefully  picketed,  to  intercept  all  communication,  and 
the  men  were  instructed  to  search  for  Samuel  Adams  and 
John  Hancock,  the  newly  appointed  delegates  to  the 
next  Continental  congress,  who,  fearing  arrest,  wei’e  in 
hiding.  But  such  precautions  were  rendered  futile  by 
the  foresight  of  the  patriots.  A preconcerted  signal  was 
given  from  the  most  conspicuous  belfry  in  Boston,  and 
at  once  from  across  the  water  Revere  and  Dawes  set  out 
to  alarm  the  adjacent  towns.  It  was  known  that  the  Brit- 
ish must  march  through  Lexington.  At  two  in  the 
morning  a hundred  and  thirty  minute  men  were  assem- 


THE  BEGINNING  OE  HOSTILITIES 


185 


bled  on  the  village  green,  determined  to  obstruct,  and 
basing  their  action  on  the  legal  right  to  the  king’s  high- 
way. Being  armed,  stringent  orders  were  given  not  to 
attack  except  in  self-defence,  and  they  dispersed  for  rest 
until  summoned. 

When  at  dawn  on  the  nineteenth  a drum -tap  an- 
nounced the  approach  of  the  regulars  not  more  than 
sixty  responded.  They  were  greeted  by  a volley  of  abuse 
and  orders  to  throw  down  then-  arms,  and  as  they  hesi- 
tated, the  troops  were  commanded  to  fire.  The  melee 
lasted  but  a moment,  and  with  an  interchange  of  volleys 
the  Americans  retreated  before  the  superior  force  of 
their  enemy.  Seven  men  of  Lexington  were  killed,  and 
nine  wounded.  Several  English  soldiers  were  slightly 
injured;  but  the  column  scarcely  halted,  and  with  cheers 
of  exultation  marched  on  its  way  to  Concord,  which 
they  reached  about  seven.  There  had  been  two  hundred 
militia  in  the  town,  but  they  had  withdrawn  across  the 
river  to  the  neighboring  hill-tops  to  await  reinforce- 
ments, taking  with  them  the  cannon  and  some  of  the 
stores.  The  British  accordingly  were  unopposed,  and 
destroyed  what  was  left,  scouring  the  valley  for  two 
miles,  and  setting  fire  to  the  village  court-house.  But 
by  this  time  the  express-riders  had  done  their  work,  and 
men  from  every  side  poured  in  as  the  smoke  ascend- 
ed to  guide  their  hurrying  steps.  Resistance  was  soon 
organized  ; at  a little  before  noon  firing  began,  the  con- 
flict being  centred  at  the  bridge.  Isaac  Davis,  who  had 
led  the  successful  descent,  and  a few  others  about  him 
had  fallen.  Two  English  soldiers  were  killed  and  sever- 
al wounded.  The  English,  outnumbered  in  turn,  began 
their  retreat. 

The  orderly  march  of  the  English  soon  became  a rout, 
as  the  fire  from  the  ever-growing  numbers  of  minute 
men  grew  hotter  and  hotter  from  behind  the  fences, 


186  TIIE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


thickets,  and  trees  which  bordered  the  line  of  march. 
Like  hunted  animals  the  flying  column  halted  now  and 
Retreat  of  the  then  in  brave  defiance,  but  every  sharp  en- 

Enghsh.  counter  only  decimated  them.  Finally  at  two 
o’clock,  the  officers  rallied  the  tired  and  discouraged 
soldiers  into  form,  as  Lord  Percy  with  a force  of  twelve 
hundred  men  arrived  to  rescue  them.  But  the  ever-grow- 
ing numbers  of  the  farmers  and  their  clever,  desultory 
system  of  attack  proved  too  much  for  even  this  rein- 
forcement, the  precipitate  flight  was  hardly  changed 
except  in  the  matter  of  numbers.  At  sunset  Bunker 
Hill,  near  Charlestown,  was  reached,  and  the  exhausted 
soldiers  were  ferried  over  the  bay  to  Boston,  threaten- 
ing, if  they  were  molested,  to  burn  the  hamlet  where 
they  had  taken  refuge.  The  losses  at  Lexington  and 
Concord  had  been  very  small,  most  disproportionate  to 
the  dignity  which  the  affair  afterward  assumed  ; but  on 
the  afternoon  of  that  portentous  day  the  disasters  were 
greater.  Of  the  Americans  forty-nine  were  killed,  thirty- 
four  wounded,  and  five  missing  ; of  the  English,  the  total 
in  the  same  categories  was  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
three. 

Gage  had  always  felt  and  expressed  contempt  for  the 
feeble  preparations  of  the  colonies  ; Concord  and  Lex- 
Boston  be-  ington  were  evidence  of  both  the  truth  and 
Amlncan  falsity  of  his  opinion.  There  was  but  little 
farmers.  orderly  efficiency  among  his  adversaries  on 
that  day  and  they  won  by  courage,  numbers,  and  intelli- 
gent use  of  their  chances.  All  that  afternoon  and  night 
the  stream  of  newcomers  was  steady,  but  they  were  with- 
out artillery,  organization,  equipment,  or  stores — they 
were  nothing  in  short  but  a brave,  undisciplined,  and 
enthusiastic  rabble.  But  nevertheless  they  were  full  of 
resources  and  amenable  to  reason.  By  the  utmost  exer- 
tion, a rude  order  was  established  before  morning,  and 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  HOSTILITIES 


187 


the  dawn  of  April  20th  saw  Boston  a beleaguered  city. 
Within  two  days  the  siege  was  established.  Putnam 
arrived  with  volunteers  from  Connecticut  which  also 
sent  envoys  to  Gage,  asking  whether  peace  was  now  im- 
possible. WTitli  the  main  body  was  a company  from 
New  Haven  under  Benedict  Arnold.  John  Stark  came 
from  New  Hampshire  by  forced  marches  with  twelve 
hundred  men,  and  Nathaniel  Greene  from  Rhode  Island 
with  a thousand.  Chelsea  and  Cambridge  were  occupied 
and  the  investment  completed.  The  city  was  still  in  the 
same  plight  when  Howe,  Clinton,  and  Burgoyne  arrived 
with  reinforcements  on  May  25th.  Within  the  town  rage 
and  disappointment  paralyzed  the  English.  In  the  scar- 
city of  provisions,  Gage  determined  to  send  the  citizens 
to  their  friends  without,  and  for  a time  a mournful  pro- 
cession poured  across  the  isthmus,  but  he  soon  repented 
and  withheld  permission  from  the  remainder.  His  hes- 
itancy and  inactivity  were  the  best  allies  of  his  oppo- 
nents. 

The  provisional  assemblies  of  the  New  England  colonies 
at  once  began  to  devise  ways  and  means.  The  forces 
were  organized  by  the  appointment  of  supe-  T h e co]o_ 
rior  officers,  the  subordinates  being  chosen  f or s a a"  re - 
for  a time  by  the  rank  and  file.  The  paper  slstance- 
money  of  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  and  Massachusetts 
was  made  legally  interchangeable,  for,  in  the  poverty 
of  their  resources,  promises  were  a last  resort.  On  the 
whole,  delay  and  defence  were  aimed  at  in  the  provincial 
deliberations  of  these  commonwealths,  and  a feeling  pre- 
vailed that  no  decisive  action  could  be  taken  before  the 
approaching  session  of  the  general  congress.  But  plans 
of  the  most  important  character  were  matured  for  secur- 
ing the  advantage  of  control  over  strategic  points  in  the 
event  of  war.  In  something  over  a fortnight  the  news 
had  spread  throughout  the  united  colonies.  New  York, 


188  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


city  and  province,  defied  tlie  remnants  of  royal  govern- 
ment and  seized  all  munitions  of  war  New  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia  disdained  any  overtures  from 
the  former  authorities  and  adhered  to  the  general  plan 
of  action.  The  governor  of  Georgia,  farthest  in  distance 
of  all  her  sisters,  could  only  look  on  in  impotence  while 
the  gunpowder  and  provisions  of  the  Crown  and  the 
money  of  the  people  were  forwarded  to  the  scene  of  ex- 
pected action.  “ A general  rebellion  throughout  Amer- 
ica is  coming  on  swiftly,”  he  wrote  in  despair. 

In  many  places  north  and  south  the  army  officers 
threw  up  their  royal  commissions  and  accepted  new 

„ , ones  from  their  colony  conventions.  Com- 

Overth  row  ^ 

of  the  colonial  panies  were  organized  and  started  for  the 
go-vermnents.  gea^.  0f  war_  Delegates  made  ready  and  set 

out  for  the  general  congress  •while  the  popular  provin- 
cial assemblies  began  to  be  designated  as  provincial  con- 
gresses, and  gradually  assumed  the  functions  of  civil  gov- 
ernment. Some  of  the  minor  civil  officials  recognized 
their  sovereignty  and  kept  their  places,  but  the  greater 
officers  of  the  Crown,  whose  united  action  in  supporting 
parliamentary  taxation  and  the  establishment  of  a stand- 
ing army  had  largely  brought  about  the  existing  condi- 
tion of  affairs  either  fled  to  England  or  sought  the  pro- 
tection of  war-ships  and  garrisons.  Dunmore  actually 
fled  before  the  menace  of  a public  uprising.  On  receipt 
of  the  news  from  Lexington  on  May  2d,  Patrick  Henry 
put  himself  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  numerous  com- 
panies which  had  been  organized  by  Washington,  Lee, 
Jefferson,  and  himself  as  a committee  of  safety,  and  set 
out  for  Williamsburg.  The  governor  declared  him  a 
traitor  and  threatened  to  burn  the  town.  The  whole 
country  rose  and  would  have  joined  the  expedition,  but 
Dunmore  fled  to  a man-of-war.  In  Orange  County,  at 
the  head  of  a patriotic  association,  was  James  Madison, 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  HOSTILITIES 


189 


who  had  just  graduated  from  Princeton,  and  fresh  from 
the  enthusiasm  of  President  Witherspoon  now  called  for 
reprisal,  addressing  to  Henry  a message  of  congratula- 
tion. 

But  of  all  the  events  between  April  20th  and  May 
10th,  the  one  which  stands  pre-eminent  was  the  seizure 
of  Ticonderoga.  The  hue  of  easy  water  com-  seizure  of  Ti- 
munication  between  New  York  and  Montreal  conderusa- 
had  been  of  such  transcendent  importance  in  the  French 
and  Indian  War  that  fabulous  sums,  estimated  at  mill- 
ions, were  spent  on  the  fortress  of  Ticonderoga,  which 
commanded  the  portage  or  watershed  between  the  river 
systems  of  the  Hudson  and  the  St.  Lawrence.  In  any 
conflict  with  England  this  same  line  would  go  far  to  de- 
termine the  event,  for  by  its  control  the  British  could 
isolate  New  England,  prevent  united  action  by  land 
on  the  part  of  the  insurgents,  and  secure  communication 
with  Canada  to  introduce  troops  and  munitions  from 
either  end  into  the  heart  of  the  country.  At  this  time 
the  great  fort  was  occupied  by  a very  small  garrison  of 
some  fifty  men  under  Delaplace,  but  there  were  military 
stores  of  considerable  quantity.  The  expedition  to  capt- 
ure it  was  equipped  in  Connecticut,  though  by  a sort  of 
compromise  it  was  commanded  by  Ethan  Allen,  with  Ar- 
nold as  associate.  It  was  composed  of  men  from  the 
province  which  gave  the  funds,  from  Massachusetts,  and 
from  the  New  Hampshire  grants.  At  dawn  of  the  tenth 
the  Vermont  pioneer  with  eighty-three  men  appeared 
before  the  unguarded  door  of  the  fortress  and  rushing 
in,  summoned  the  surprised  and  dismayed  commander 
to  surrender.  “In  whose  name? ’’was  the  reply.  “In 
the  name  of  the  great  Jehovah  and  the  Continental 
Congress  ! ” came  the  all-significant  and  ready  answer 
as  Allen  drew  his  sword.  Quick  compliance  prevented 
even  a single  casualty.  The  comprehensive  watchword 


190  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


for  every  patriot  was  given.  The  glamour  of  the  deed 
itself,  the  acquisition  of  the  strategic  key  to  the  north- 
east, and,  not  least,  possession  of  the  much-needed  stores 
gave  a moral  strength  to  the  congress  about  to  assemble 
which  could  have  come  from  no  other  sources. 

The  accounts  of  American  affairs  which  reached  Eng- 
land late  in  May  threw  many  into  consternation.  Civil 
War  meas-  war  bad.  broken  out,  veteran  regulars  had 
meentofandrthe  before  untried  militiamen  and  farmers. 
ldng-  Such  resistance  was  not  easily  to  be  sub- 

dued. Many  of  the  middle  and  lower  classes  were  to 
mourn  for  the  dead  strewn  along  the  highway  from  Con- 
cord to  Boston,  and  some  cities  virtually  pronounced  for 
the  American  cause.  John  Wesley,  who  had  thus  far 
employed  his  great  talents  to  awaken  opposition  to  colo- 
nial claims,  now  pleaded  that  force  should  not  be  used. 
Men  like  Keppel,  Effingham,  and  the  eldest  son  of  Chat- 
ham refused  service  in  an  unjust  and  fratricidal  war. 
Lord  North  was  prostrated  and  would  have  resigned, 
but  King,  Cabinet,  and  Parliament  -were  obdurate,  and 
once  again  he  weakly  consented  to  remain.  Large  sup- 
plies of  money  were  voted,  and  new  arrangements  were 
made  for  the  energetic  suppression  of  what  was  formally 
pronounced  rebellion.  But  the  masses  were  apathetic 
and  men  would  not  enlist.  The  king  was  as  fertile  in 
resource  as  ever,  and  determined  both  to  purchase  Hes- 
sian soldiers  and  borrow  from  Catherine  of  Bussia  her 
victorious  legions. 

For  the  most  pari  Europe  failed  to  understand  the 
situation  and  there  was  little  intelligent  interest.  Her 
Attitude  of  enemies  had  a groping  hope  that  England 

Europe.  wag  gerious  difficulties,  but  that  was  all. 
Even  in  France,  where  there  was  every  appearance  of 
widespread  enthusiasm,  the  feeling  was  largely  a desire 
for  revenge.  The  most  far-seeing  statesmen  appreciated 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  HOSTILITIES 


191 


the  danger  to  European  monarchy  which  lay  in  a spirit 
of  revolt  like  this,  but  they  determined  to  use  it  for  their 
ends.  The  century  had  been  rife  with  the  most  pro- 
found and  brilliant  political  speculation.  Philosophers 
hoped  to  see  their  cherished  theories  brought  to  the  test. 
The  court,  the  wits,  and  the  people  found  a new  topic 
of  conversation  in  the  political  aspect  of  the  question  and 
reasoned  with  intelligent  interest  concerning  obedience 
to  law,  the  right  of  representation,  and  the  overthrow  of 
tyranny.  Dangerous  topics  for  the  safety  of  the  house 
of  Bourbon ! 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BUNKER  HILL— FEBRUARY-JULY,  1775 

Self-reliance  of  the  Americans — Their  Attitude  Toward  England — 
Conservative  Elements — Patriotic  Impulses — The  Mecklenburg 
Declaration — The  Second  Continental  Congress— Its  Apparent 
Inconsistencies — Results  of  Moderation —The  Virginia  Bur- 
gesses and  Lord  North's  Proposals — George  Washington — Ap- 
pointed Commander-in-Chief — Character  of  the  New  England 
Army — Fortification  of  Bunker  Hill — The  Battle — The  Result 
Indecisive — Washington  at  Cambridge. 

The  century  or  more  during  which  the  American  colo- 
nies were  left  to  shift  for  themselves  had  established  in 

all  a system  of  government  nearly  autono- 
Self-reliance  ‘ . . , ...  ..  , 

of  the  Ameri-  mous.  During  the  nine  years  constitutional 

battle  just  past  they  had  denied  the  author- 
ity of  Parliament,  but  they  admitted  the  sovereignty  of 
the  Crown,  and  there  had  never  been  a break  in  the  con- 
tinuous expression  of  loyalty  based  upon  the  experiences 
of  three  generations  in  their  relation  to  England.  On 
the  very  eve  of  the  collision  declarations  of  unswerving 
fidelity  were  made  by  leading  men.  The  colonists  be- 
lieved themselves  to  have  surmounted  the  difficulties  and 
hardships  incident  to  the  subjugation  of  a wilderness 
without  considerable  aid  from  home.  They  had  even 
been  the  determining  element  in  the  last  war,  having 
furnished  the  brains,  the  money,  and  the  men.  The  peo- 
ple of  every  faith  and  of  all  social  classes  had  therefore  a 
self-reliance  which  was  felt  to  be  justified  by  experience 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BUNKER  HILL 


193 


and  an  independence  which  sprang  from  both  habit  and 
tradition. 

From  the  outset  there  had  been  representatives  from 
nearly  every  dissenting  and  persecuted  class  in  Europe, 
and  from  the  outset,  therefore,  there  had 

...  „ Their  a 1 1 1- 

been  men  in  America  with  no  love  for  any  tude  toward 
existing  European  government.  Neither  Pu-  En“Ulld' 
ritan  nor  Covenanter  had  cause  to  love  the  British  con- 
stitution, which  in  its  passage  through  the  fires  light- 
ed by  the  Reformation,  had  been  much  purified,  but 
was  still  monarchical,  Erastian,  and  aristocratic.  New 
England  was  altogether  Puritan,  the  descendants  of  the 
Covenanters  swarmed  in  Pennsylvania  and  the  South. 
The  claim  which  is  made,  but  not  substantiated,  that 
the  colonies  aimed  at  independence  from  the  first,  has 
probably  this  basis  of  fact,  that  Calvinists  and  other  dis- 
senters, who  had  left  home  and  friends  for  conscience 
sake,  were  always  determined  that  their  aim  should  not 
be  shaken  nor  their  destiny  thwarted.  Time  and  dis- 
tance did  much  to  soften  hearts  and  remove  bitterness, 
but  there  was  always  a steady  stream  of  immigration 
from  Great  Britain,  largely  composed  of  grave  and  earn- 
est men  often  called  fanatics,  in  whose  minds  some 
wrong  or  grievance  rankled. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  unexampled  prosperity  of  the 
colonies  had  softened  the  asperity  of  those  who  shared  it, 
and  there  was  in  the  Middle  States  and  Yir-  conservative 
ginia,  a dominant  population  purely  English  elements, 
in  descent,  loyal  to  Church  and  State,  aristocratic  in  feel- 
ing, and  disdainful  of  the  uneasy  reformers  around  them. 
They  were  largely  supported  by  the  peace-loving  Quakers 
and  the  numerous  Dutch,  who,  though  Calvinists,  had 
no  longer  any  European  connection,  were  content  in 
their  life  of  faith  with  its  liturgical  devotions,  and  with 
the  ease  and  comfort  which  they  enjoyed  under  English 


194  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


rule.  Accordingly,  even  among  patriots  there  were  in 
all  the  colonies  both  radicals  and  conservatives.  By  this 
time  the  former  were  for  defiance  and  independence  by 
preference,  the  latter  for  conciliation  if  possible,  but  in- 
dependence if  necessary.  The  congress  of  1774  was  in 
the  main  an  English  convention,  petitioning  the  crown 
and  aiming  at  harmony.  Only  three  of  the  eleven  col- 
onies, Virginia,  South  Carolina,  and  Massachusetts,  were 
emphatic  in  their  demand  for  redress.  The  articles  of  as- 
sociation and  the  determination  to  meet  force  by  force 
were  alternatives,  hinting  rebellion  perhaps,  but  outrun- 
ning the  temper  of  the  majority. 

Thus  far  every  instance  of  armed  resistance,  from  the 
battle  on  the  Alamance  to  Lexington,  had  been  the  work 
Patriotic  radicals.  Little  by  little  their  steady 
impulses,  musing  over  theories  of  taxation  and  govern- 
ment had  ripened  them  into  logicians  and  statesmen. 
The  youth  of  the  country  loved  the  men  of  action,  the 
universities  brought  history  and  philosophy  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  patriots.  The  spirit  of  union  was  abroad  in 
all  classes  and  ages,  to  this  was  added  among  the  rising 
generation,  among  the  laborers,  mechanics,  and  farmers, 
and  among  the  entire  population  of  the  Alleghenies  and 
the  West,  the  spirit  of  self-reliance. 

The  westward  immigration  began  among  the  misgov- 
erned Presbyterians  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  and 

between  the  pioneers  and  their  friends  about 
The  Meek-  ^ 

lenburg  dec-  the  head -waters  of  the  Yadkin  and  Cataw- 

iaration.  . . , ...  . , . , 

ba  ; constant  communication  was  maintained. 
The  focus  of  their  social  life  was  the  town  of  Mecklen- 
burg, where  the  leading  spirit  was  Ephraim  Brevard, 
who  had  graduated  at  Princeton  in  the  stirring  days  of 
1768.  The  address  offered  to  the  crown  in  February, 
1775,  reached  that  village  in  May.  At  Charlotte  was 
soon  to  sit  a military  committee  of  two  delegates  from 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BUNKER  HILL 


195 


each  militia  regiment,  and  Brevard  was  the  clerk.  Dur- 
ing' their  sessions  came  the  news  of  Lexington.  Bre- 
vard offered,  as  tradition  says,  a series  of  resolutions  re- 
lating to  the  facts,  which  were  a virtual  declaration  of 
independence,  suspending  laws,  vacating  commissions, 
making  provisional  regulations,  and  acknowledging  only 
the  authority  of  the  provincial  congress.  They  were 
unanimously  adopted  on  May  20th,  and  although  no 
copy  of  them  exists,  there  was  adopted  on  May  31st  an- 
other set  amplifying  the  originals,  which  were  recorded 
as  in  force  until  Great  Britain  should  renounce  her  pre- 
tensions. No  doubt  has  ever  been  expressed  as  to  the 
authenticity  of  the  latter,  but  that  of  the  former  has  been 
repeatedly  assailed.  Against  a strong  local  tradition  that 
there  were  such  resolutions  is  set  the  fact  that  the  reso- 
lutions themselves  were  not  preserved.  The  document 
in  its  final  shape  was  printed  ; copies  were  scattered  over 
Georgia  and  North  Carolina,  and  one  formally  trans- 
mitted to  the  second  Continental  congress,  which  had 
assembled  on  May  10th. 

Many  important  questions  of  federal  interest  could  be 
answered  if  the  nature  of  the  second  meeting  between 
provincial  delegates  were  clear.  The  first  ^ ^ 
Continental  congress  had  been  composed  in  Continental 
part  of  members  regularly  chosen  by  legal 
assemblies  without  the  assent  of  the  various  governors, 
and  in  part  of  popular  representatives  irregularly  ap- 
pointed. That  body  had  named  its  ultimatum,  the  col- 
lision had  occurred,  colonial  governments  had  disinte- 
grated, and  now  its  successor  was  sitting,  made  up  of 
nearly  the  same  men  commissioned  and  sent  exclusively 
by  voluntary  assemblies  without  regard  to  council  or 
royal  governor,  but  also  without  regular  or  formal  au- 
thorization by  the  people.  Moreover,  its  acts  will  not 
endure  the  fierce  light  of  logical  analysis,  although  they 


196  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


are  perfectly  comprehensible  by  the  aid  of  historic  imag- 
ination. The  world  may  move  with  scientific  accuracy 
through  the  gx-eat  phases  of  history,  in  the  small  ones 
thei’e  are  times  of  contradiction  and  inconsistency,  of 
coui'age  and  quickening,  of  doubt  and  darkness,  of  hope 
and  assurance.  Should  New  York  oppose  the  landing 
of  the  English  troops  soon  to  arrive  in  her  harbor  ? 
Congi-ess  desired  her  to  act  on  the  defensive  and  an- 
swei’ed,  No.  Would  the  Continental  assembly  assume 
the  charge  of  the  forces  about  Boston  ? Could  the  pro- 
vincial congress  declare  itself  a constitutional  assembly 
to  establish  legal  government  ? The  first  of  these  two 
questions  was  referred  to  a committee  which  had  not  yet 
l’eported  at  the  end  of  May.  The  answer  to  the  latter 
was  also  postponed. 

In  order  not  to  embari’ass  further  negotiations  for 
peace,  Congress  would  gladly  have  gone  so  far  as  to  ar- 
rest the  works  conducted  by  Allen  to  restore 
mconsfsten-  the  strength  of  both  Ticonderoga  and  Crown 
cies'  Point  to  their  former  impregnability.  Jay 

moved  and  Dickinson  seconded  the  humble  petition  to 
the  king  which  was  adopted  and  forwarded  at  the  hands 
of  Richard  Penn,  a descendant  of  the  first  proprietor. 
Neither  one  had  a thought  of  abandoning  Massachusetts. 
Duane  proposed  negotiations,  but  when  the  motion  was 
carried  there  went  with  it  a resolution  to  assume  the  de- 
fensive. Lord  North’s  offers  were  received,  but  their  in- 
sidious natui’e  was  exposed  and  the  terms  rejected.  But 
on  the  twelfth  of  June  a general  fast  was  appointed  on 
which  they  were  to  recognize  “ George  HI.  as  their  right- 
ful sovei’eign,  and  to  look  up  to  the  great  Governor  of 
the  woi’ld  for  the  restoration  of  the  invaded  rights  of 
America  and  a reconciliation  with  the  parent  state.” 

Thus  far  the  moderate  party  led  by  Dickinson  had  the 
control,  and  the  Mecklenburg  declaration  of  indepen- 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BUNKER  HILL 


197 


clenee  must  have  been  coldly  received.  The  delay  did 
honor  to  their  hearts,  and  ultimately  was  the  cause  of  that 
unanimity  with  which  New  York  and  Penn-  R e s u ] t s of 
sylvania  carried  on  the  war.  At  the  time  it  ap-  modcration- 
peared  disastrous  to  the  patriot  party,  which  had  no  illu- 
sions concerning  reconciliation,  because  in  the  interval 
Carleton  was  concentrating  his  troops  in  Canada,  John- 
son was  negotiating  with  the  Six  Nations,  and  a French 
Canadian  emissary  was  enlisting  auxiliaries  among  the 
Indians  of  the  Great  Lakes.  The  fugitive  functionaries 
of  the  crown  had  regained  their  courage  to  such  an  ex- 
tent that  Dunmore  had  hopes  of  committing  Virginia 
to  favor  Lord  North’s  propositions,  and  summoned  the 
House  of  Burgesses  to  meet  at  'Williamsburg  early  in 
June. 

Randolph  and  Jefferson  left  their  seats  in  Congress  to 
obey  the  summons.  On  June  5th  the  debate  began. 
There  was  that  in  its  tone  which  filled  Dun-  ^ yir„:nia 
more  with  dismay,  and  pleading  that  he  feared  Lorf^lforth’s 
revenge  might  be  taken  on  him  for  the  out-  proposals, 
lawry  of  Hancock  and  Adams  by  Gage,  he  fled  again  to 
take  refuge  on  an  English  man-of-war  It  was  a most 
merciless  dissection  which  the  North  proposal  underwent 
at  that  meeting.  To  the  final  rejection  was  added  an  ex- 
planation that  it  should  have  been  accompanied  by  a 
repeal  of  all  the  penal  acts,  and  an  address,  written  by 
Jefferson,  was  sent  to  the  fugitive  governor,  declaring  that 
they  would  no  longer  weary  the  king  by  petitions  nor  the 
English  nation  by  appeals.  Soon  afterward  a provisional 
convention  met  and  assumed  the  reins  of  government, 
raising  troops  and  borrowing  money  to  pay  them. 

George  Washington  was  by  common  consent  the  rep- 
resentative Virginian.  His  family  was  both  ancient  and 
gentle,  and  had,  moreover,  been  resident  in  America  for 
generations  ; he  himself  reproduced,  as  far  as  possible, 


19S  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


the  type  of  country  gentleman  from  whom  he  was  de- 
scended. His  education,  though  largely  self-acquired, 
George  Wash-  was  excellent,  and  being  by  profession  a land- 
ington.  surveyor  both  his  vocation  and  his  pleasures 
had  not  only  inured  him  to  hardship  but  had  developed 
his  natural  beauty  into  strength  and  grace.  At  this  time 
he  was  forty-three  years  of  age,  six  feet  in  stature,  a dar- 
ing horseman,  and  intrepid  hunter.  To  his  early  experi- 
ences as  a pioneer  in  the  western  wilds  he  had  added 
that  of  five  years’  command  of  the  Virginia  militia  in  the 
eventful  years  from  1753-1758.  From  that  date  until  the 
present  juncture  he  had  lived  in  happy  wedlock  on  his 
estate  of  Mount  Vernon,  combining  the  duties  of  a 
planter,  a justice  of  the  peace,  and  a legislator  in  the 
House  of  Burgesses.  In  the  latter  capacity  he  had  been 
silent  but  interested,  conservative  but  determined,  and 
though  no  agitator  even  the  extremest  radicals  had 
learned  to  respect  his  judgment.  At  the  same  time  he 
was  most  human  in  his  sympathies  and  failings.  Through 
frugality  and  a strictness  of  dealing  which  bordered  on 
harshness  he  had  accumulated  wealth  and  lands,  which  in 
the  later  success  of  American  independence  acquired  great 
value.  His  standards  of  social  morality  were  on  the  whole 
higher  than  those  of  his  class,  and  he  lived  in  closer  con- 
formity to  them  than  his  fellows,  but  they  would  not  per- 
haps meet  the  approval  of  the  Puritan.  He  was  altogether 
free  from  concealment  or  hypocrisy,  although  a certain 
haughty  reserve  was  most  useful  to  him  as  a commander. 

The  news  from  the  army  of  New  England  grew  more 
and  more  disquieting.  Disorganization  was  thinning  its 
, . . , ranks  and  the  lukewarm  acts  of  Congress  had 

commander-  dimmed  its  enthusiasm.  The  New  England 

m-chief.  . . ,1,. 

patriots  had  come  to  prize  the  sympathy  of 
their  Virginia  supporters,  and  with  a wise  unselfishness 
they  named  Washington  to  undertake  the  arduous  task 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BUNKER  HILL 


199 


which  could  no  longer  be  postponed.  He  was  unani- 
mously elected  by  ballot  to  be  commander-in-chief  of 
what  was  purposely  designated  not  the  national  but  the 
continental  army.  The  action  was  lightly  taken  by  many 
who  did  not  appreciate,  as  Washington  himself  did,  the 
toilsome  labor  and  momentous  consequences.  Neverthe- 
less with  modest  firmness  he  accepted,  refusing,  however, 
the  proposed  remuneration,  and  requesting  only  that 
Congress  would  reimburse  his  expenses,  of  which  he 
would  keep  an  accurate  account.  His  commission  was 
ample,  giving  him  powers  really  dictatorial  and  directing 
him  to  take  “ special  care  ” that  the  liberties  of  America 
should  receive  no  detriment.  He  set  out  forthwith  for 
Boston,  where  he  assumed  his  office  under  the  historic 
elm  still  standing  on  Cambridge  Common. 

But  several  days  before  his  arrival,  in  fact  on  the  very 
date  of  his  commission,  the  volunteer  farmers,  half -armed, 
half-equipped,  and  not  half-organized,  had 
again  shown  their  mettle  in  a conflict  alto-  the  New  Eng- 
gether  different  in  character  and  proportion  ac  army' 
from  the  affairs  at  Lexington  and  Concord.  Difficult  as 
his  task  had  been,  the  excellent  but  aged  and  now  unwar- 
like Ward  had  brought  some  order  out  of  chaos,  organ- 
ized a council  of  war,  and  evolved  an  excellent  plan  of 
operations.  Every  colony  had  its  own  militia  laws,  and 
long  agitation  had  made  the  farmers  readier  to  discuss 
than  to  obey.  Obedience  when  rendered  was  to  their 
own  local  officers,  who  in  turn  paraded  swollen  titles  and 
followed  their  own  devices  rather  than  regular  orders, 
as  was  seen  in  the  preliminary  movements  before  Bunker 
Hill. 

Nevertheless  them  had  been  a beginning  of  works  to 
fortify  the  heights  in  Charlestown,  whither  it  would  be 
easiest  to  make  a sortie  by  water  from  Boston.  These 
were  known  as  Bunker  Hill,  from  the  name  of  a Scotch- 


200  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


Irish,  settler.  Near  by  was  the  eminence  of  Breed’s  Hill. 
The  English  looked  on  with  anxiety  at  the  progress  of 
„ their  opponents,  slight  as  it  was,  and  deter- 

tiou  pf  Bun-  mined  at  last  to  move.  On  June  11th  was 
issued  a proclamation  declaring  that  all  per- 
sons found  in  arms  against  the  sovereign  would  he 
hung  as  rebels  and  traitors,  but  offering  amnesty  to 
everybody  except  Adams  and  Hancock.  The  Americans 
were  undismayed,  and  ou  June  15th  about  a thousand 
men  under  Prescott  set  out  to  continue  the  works.  Be- 
fore dawn  on  the  16th  redoubts  were  begun  and  half- 
finished,  but  for  some  reason  now  unknown,  on  the  lower 
heights  of  Breed’s  Hill ; Putnam  arrived  during  the  day 
with  a small  reinforcement,  but  took  position  on  Bunker 
Hill,  following  his  instructions  and  justly  deeming  it  the 
more  important  point,  commanding  as  it  did  the  only  line 
of  retreat  open  to  the  Americans.  The  English  planted 
a park  of  artillery  on  Copp’s  Hill,  and  brought  up  two 
men  of-war.  Next  day,  the  seventeenth,  at  three  in  the 
afternoon,  under  cover  of  the  fire  from  battery  and  ships, 
a force  of  about  twenty-five  hundred  was  sent  across  the 
water  and  landed  at  the  foot  of  Breed’s  Hill  to  attack  the 
Americans. 

The  battle  opened  by  a splendid  but  premature  rush 
of  the  whole  English  force  straight  up  the  slope.  The 
Americans,  numbering  about  fifteen  hundred. 

The  battle.  . ° 

had  been  judiciously  posted  in  two  divisions 
of  equal  size,  and  met  the  advance  by  a carefully  directed 
fire  which  drove  the  enemy  back.  After  an  interval  of 
about  fifteen  minutes  a second  charge,  more  deliberate 
than  the  first,  was  repelled  with  equal  skill  and  courage. 
There  was  a third  and  longer  interval.  The  Americans 
were  at  the  end  of  their  ammunition,  which  had  been 
gathered  haphazard  in  such  small  quantities  as  could  be 
found.  The  efforts  of  both  the  council  of  war  and  the 


THE  BATTLE  OE  BUNKER  HILL 


201 


committee  of  safety  having  been  directed  to  the  security 
of  Cambridge,  the  combatants  were  left  without  re- 
sources of  any  kind.  There  must  have  been  little  strag- 
gling, for  about  eight  hundred  were  left  behind  the 
works,  while  two  hundred  were  in  the  temporary  shelter 
of  a fence.  There  was  but  enough  powder  for  one  more 
round.  The  English  officers  showed  both  courage  and 
endurance.  A second  time  the  men  were  rallied,  re- 
formed, and  encouraged  ; a third  time  they  moved  up- 
ward with  Used  bayonets,  and  aided  by  the  enfilade  of 
their  battery  successfully  stormed  the  redoubt  at  last. 
In  the  ensuing  melee  the  Americans  passed  almost  un- 
hurt through  the  broken  lines,  those  who  had  powder 
using  it  with  deadly  effect,  formed  in  good  order,  and 
slowly  retreated  over  Bunker  Hill  to  Prospect  Hill,  near 
Cambridge,  where  they  threw  up  trenches  and  stood  to 
await  the  British  attack.  But  the  English  were  too 
much  exhausted  to  follow  up  their  advantage,  and  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  as  it  has  ever  since  been  called, 
remained  technically  indecisive. 

Morally  and  historically  this  conflict  was  a victory  for 
the  united  colonies.  Its  glory  belongs  to  no  single  name, 
for  the  command  was  divided  and  ineffective,  The  resnit 
the  slender  resources  of  the  provincials  were  indecisive- 
not  husbanded,  the  battle  took  place  where  neither  the 
council  of  war  nor  the  committee  of  safety  had  intend- 
ed, and  among  Washington’s  first  stem  duties  was  the 
holding  of  a court-martial.  From  the  army  of  New  Eng- 
land three  hundred  and  four  were  wounded,  a hundred 
and  forty-five  were  either  killed  or  missing.  Many  gal- 
lant leaders  perished,  among  them  Joseph  Warren,  whose 
fame  calumny  cannot  dim.  On  the  other  hand,  the  men 
had  fought  bravely  and  behaved  like  veterans.  The  Eng- 
lish losses  were  enormous,  a thousand  and  fifty-four 
killed  or  wounded,  of  whom  one  in  ten  were  officers. 


202  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


The  survivors,  less  than  two-thirds  of  the  total  number, 
felt  a respect  for  the  courage  of  their  adversaries  which 
disheartened  the  commander.  He  wrote  to  the  ministry 
that  he  could  not  bear  his  loss,  that  the  Americans  were 
not  the  despicable  rabble  he  had  supposed.  Franklin  in 
a letter  to  English  friends  tersely  expressed  the  whole 
matter,  “ Americans  will  fight ; England  has  lost  her 
colonies  forever.” 

Washington’s  journey  to  Cambridge  had  been  like  the 
progress  of  a conqueror,  and  awakened  a most  valuable 
Washington  enthusiasm  in  the  towns  through  which  he 
at  Cambridge.  passeq,  He  was  authorized  to  establish  an 
army  of  twenty  thousand  men  in  Massachusetts  ; but  out 
of  the  materials  at  hand  and  with  the  money  raised  he 
could  organize  and  train  only  fourteen  thousand.  Be- 
fore long  even  they  became  discontented.  Whole  regi- 
ments marched  away  as  their  term  of  enlistment  expired, 
and  including  in  the  total  the  five  regiments  of  militia 
which  had  been  called  in  from  Massachusetts  and  New 
Hampshire,  it  was  estimated  that  during  the  summer 
and  autumn  the  force  dwindled  to  ten  thousand.  They 
were  ill-fed  and  badly  armed,  having  not  more  than  forty- 
five  rounds  of  powder  for  each  man.  There  were  also 
ten  thousand  troops  in  Boston,  English  regulars,  and  the 
situation  was  precarious.  The  experience  of  Bunker 
Hill  seemed,  however,  to  have  quenched  their  ardor,  and 
their  inactivity  was  the  safety  of  their  besiegers,  giving 
time  as  it  did  for  drill  and  the  acquisition  of  military 
habits. 


CHAPTER  XYH. 

OVERTHROW  OF  ROYAL  AUTHORITY— 1775-1776 


The  Expedition  against  Canada— Siege  of  Quebec — Failure  of  the 
Campaign— Siege  of  Boston— The  English  Withdraw — Bom- 
bardment of  Norfolk — Overthrow  of  Royal  Government  in 
the  South  and  in  New  England — Anomalous  Situation  in  the 
Middle  Colonies — Beginnings  of  United  and  Independent  Ac- 
tion— Paper  Money — John  Adams  and  the  Conduct  of  Con- 
gress— The  First  American  Flag — Trade  Notions  of  Congress — 
The  Petition  to  Parliament  Rejected — The  Americans  Pro- 
claimed Rebels — Purchase  of  Troops  by  George  III. — Congress 
Petitions  the  King — Action  of  the  Patriots — “ Common-Sense” 
— Effect  on  Congress  aud  the  Country — Final  Overthrow  of 
Royal  Authority. 

Schuyler  liad  been  authorized  to  invade  Canada,  the 
governor  of  which  proclaimed  the  Americans  on  the 
border  as  traitors  and  established  martial 

. The  expedl- 

law.  The  troops  about  iiconderoga  were  tion  against 
found  to  be  both  undisciplined  and  insub- 
ordinate, but  with  the  aid  of  his  capable  and  amiable 
lieutenant,  Montgomery,  the  new  commander  re-estab- 
lished discipline,  and  in  September  began  his  advance. 
The  expedition  was  rash  but  brilliant,  and  met  with 
temporary  success.  St.  John  was  invested  ; but  in  a skir- 
mish before  Montreal,  Ethan  Allen  was  taken  prisoner ; 
he  was  afterward  sent  in  irons  to  England.  Carleton  was 
then  defeated  and  Montreal  occupied.  A reinforcement 
of  eleven  hundred  men,  under  Arnold,  had  been  sent  by 
Washington.  They  started  on  September  19th,  and 
penetrated  the  Maine  wilderness,  enduring  the  utmost 


204  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


hardships  of  cold  and  hunger.  Scores  perished  on  the 
way. 

When  the  forces  of  Montgomery  and  Arnold  were 
united,  on  December  2d,  there  were  but  a thousand 
Siege  of  Que-  Americans  in  all,  and  two  hundred  Canadian 
bec-  auxiliaries,  for  at  the  end  of  their  term  of 
enlistment  Montgomery’s  men  had  left  for  home  in 
troops.  Quebec  was  soon  invested,  however,  and  careful 
preparations  made  for  a storm.  Carleton  held  the 
citadel  with  sixteen  hundred  men.  In  it  were  also  a 
large  number  of  Americans  who  had  been  captured  in 
various  actions,  many  of  them  so  daring  that  they  verged 
on  madness.  On  the  last  day  of  1775  the  lower  town 
was  attacked.  There  was  a courageous  and  well-con- 
tested action,  during  which  Montgomery  fell  and  Arnold 
was  wounded.  With  some  eight  hundred  men,  all  that 
were  left,  the  surviving  officer  sat  down  with  stubborn 
courage  before  the  walls  of  the  city  to  continue  the 
siege.  Montreal  was  in  American  hands,  and  to  all  ap- 
pearance two-tliirds  of  Canada  had  been  won. 

In  truth  Carleton  was  master  of  the  situation  ; well 
housed  and  well  fed,  his  best  ally  against  the  little  Amer- 
Faiiure  of  ican  army  without  in  the  snow  was  time, 
the  campaign  rp'|ie  following  spring  Wooster  came  up  from 
Montreal  in  April  with  fifteen  hundred  men,  and  Thomas, 
appointed  by  Washington  to  the  chief  command,  ap- 
peared on  May  1st  with  eight  regiments.  But  the  be- 
siegers were  already  reduced  by  disease  to  less  than  two 
thousand,  of  whom  half  were  still  down  with  small-pox, 
which  had  been  raging  in  the  American  camp  for 
months.  A few  days  later  arrived  the  English  fleet  with 
a large  reinforcement  of  English  and  German  soldiers. 
The  order  was  given  by  Thomas  to  retreat,  and  a sortie 
from  the  city  changed  the  l’etreat  into  a rout.  The  sick 
and  disheartened  Americans  were  further  attacked  from 


OVERTHROW  OF  ROYAL  AUTHORITY  205 


an  ambush  near  Montreal  bj  a body  composed  of  Eng- 
lish, Canadians,  and  Indians,  and  lost  four  hundred  men 
captured  by  the  enemy.  Several  gallant  attempts  were 
made  in  June,  under  Sullivan,  to  arrest  the  demoraliza- 
tion of  the  American  army  of  the  north,  but  by  this  time 
there  were  ten  thousand  men  in  English  pay  on  the  soil 
of  Canada — Germans  under  Riedesel,  Irish  under  Bur- 
goyne.  They  had  arrived  by  way  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  gave  new  strength  to  the  resistance  wherever  made. 
Early  in  July  the  remnants  of  the  American  force  were 
again  at  Crown  Point.  The  campaign  thus  sorrowfully 
ended  abounded  in  romantic  and  chivalrous  incidents. 
Carleton  showed  clemency  to  his  captives,  and  Mont- 
gomery was  buried  with  the  honors  of  war.  Mam/  ar- 
dent but  unschooled  Ameiicans  made  ventures  that  are 
scarcely  credible.  While  foiled  and  discredited  they 
learned  from  failure  lessons  which  were  later  of  priceless 
value  to  them  and  their  country.  They  came  out  of  the 
fire  of  tribulation  as  undaunted  as  when  they  entered  it. 

It  was  possible  for  eight  precious  regiments — a whole 
brigade  and  a third,  as  the  army  was  organized — to  leave 
Boston  and  march  for  Canada,  because  the  giege  of  Bos. 
city  had  been  finally  evacuated.  After  serious  tou' 
delay  ammunition  began  to  arrive  at  the  camp  of  Wash- 
ington, and  he  felt  assured  by  the  prompt  appearance 
of  New  England  militia,  when  summoned,  that  he  could 
maintain  a proportionate  force.  On  March  2d  he  began, 
most  unexpectedly  to  the  English  in  Boston,  to  bombard 
the  city  from  the  fortifications  he  had  been  constructing, 
hitherto  useless  by  reason  of  his  destitution  in  the  matter 
of  powder.  For  three  days  the  fire  on  both  sides  contin- 
ued ; but  while  Howe  was  puzzling  over  the  significance 
of  the  attack,  his  opponent,  under  cover  of  the  noise  and 
excitement,  was  busy  with  his  spade.  To  the  consterna- 
tion of  the  beleaguered,  it  was  learned  that  on  the  morn- 


206  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


ing  of  the  fifth  a strong  redoubt  on  Dorchester  Heights 
had  been  completed  and  occupied  by  the  besiegers. 

There  were  but  two  alternatives,  evacuation  or  another 

attack  like  that  of  Bunker  Hill,  The  former  was  chosen, 

and  by  the  evening  of  the  sixteenth  the  Eng- 
Tli6  Una.  ® ® 

lish  with-  lisli  fleet,  with  eight  thousand  troops  on 

draw‘  board,  had  sailed  for  Halifax.  They  left  be- 

hind them  in  their  haste  precious  spoils  — twenty-five 
thousand  bushels  of  wheat,  two  hundred  and  fifty  can- 
non, and  other  material  of  war  almost  equally  invaluable. 
The  banished  inhabitants  hastened  to  their  homes  as  the 
enemy  departed.  The  victorious  army  made  its  formal 
entry  on  the  twentieth,  and,  as  a climax  to  their  exulta- 
tion, a few  days  later  an  English  ship,  loaded  with  guns 
and  powder,  entered  the  harbor  in  ignorance  of  the  re- 
cent events  and  was  captured. 

These  mingled  successes  and  reverses  in  war  were  ac- 
companied by  similar  ebbs  and  flows  in  the  tide  of  legis- 
lation. In  Virginia  the  provincial  congress 
ms ut  of  Nor-  was  sovereign  except  in  and  about  Norfolk, 
in  which  for  some  time  the  royalists  had  as- 
sembled under  the  protection  of  a fleet.  On  December 
14th,  however,  the  town  was  captured  by  the  popular 
forces.  On  the  first  of  January,  by  Dunmore’s  orders, 
the  English  men-of-war  drew  up  to  the  wharves,  and  for 
nine  hours  swept  the  place  with  shot  from  their  guns. 
The  sailors  set  fire  to  what  the  balls  spared. 

Already  chosen  bodies  of  riflemen  had  been  organized 
by  the  convention,  and  in  an  action  against  the  ships,  at 
Overthrow  Hampton,  had  held  the  enemy  at  bay  ; now 

of  royal  gov-  seven  new  regiments  were  raised  and  equipped 
ernment  in  the  ° x *- 

South  and  in  — one  of  them  was  composed  of  Germans. 

New  En0]and.  ju^  1775,  Georgia  adopted  the  articles  of 

the  American  Association,  by  a provisional  assembly 

elected  delegates  to  Congress,  and  committed  sovereign 


OVERTHROW  OF  ROYAL  AUTHORITY  207 


power  for  the  time  to  the  people.  In  North  Carolina  the 
patriots  proscribed  the  numerous  Tories — Scotch  refugee 
Highlanders  in  great  part — terrified  Martin,  the  royal 
governor,  into  flight,  and  through  an  executive  commit- 
tee turned  the  militia  into  three  regiments  of  regulars. 
South  Carolina,  under  the  lead  of  Laurens,  succeeded  in 
corresponding  enterprises  : the  governor  fled,  the  Tories 
promised  neutrality,  a regiment  of  artillery  was  raised, 
and  the  important  fort  which  commanded  Charleston 
harbor  was  seized  and  occupied.  New  Hampshire  like- 
wise drove  off  her  governor,  and  was  ruled  by  local  com- 
mittees and  a provincial  congress.  Both  Connecticut 
and  Rhode  Island  already  had  charters  which  committed 
all  power  to  the  people,  and  their  activity  in  prosecution 
of  the  war  was  in  proportion  to  their  freedom.  Trum- 
bull, governor  of  the  former  State,  was  one  of  the  notable 
men  of  the  Revolution,  and  Rhode  Island  would  have 
been  famous  in  her  distinguished  son,  Nathaniel  Greene, 
had  her  daring  and  self-sacrificing  patriotism  done  noth- 
ing further. 

But  the  constitutional  situation  was  not  so  plain  in 
the  other  colonies.  The  provincial  congress  of  Massa- 
chusetts had  petitioned  for  authority  to  or-  Anomalous 
ganize  a regular  administration  under  the  the^mTa  &\e 
Congress  at  Philadelphia,  but  the  answer  was  co,omes- 
withheld,  to  the  great  discouragement  of  her  people.  In 
the  two  proprietary  provinces  of  Pennsylvania  and  Mary- 
land there  was  a nice  balance  of  parties,  and  by  its  clever 
use  the  semblance  of  royal  government  was  still  main- 
tained ; while  at  the  same  time  and  in  a similar  way.  Try- 
on,  of  New  York,  and  Franklin,  in  New  Jersey,  so  eveuly 
offset  the  moderates  and  radicals  against  each  other  as 
to  preserve  their  own  place  and  dignity  all  summer  long. 
But,  nevertheless,  there  was  a divided  authority  in  all 
these  commonwealths.  There  was  an  executive  commit- 


208  TIIE  FRENCH  AVAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


tee  in  New  York,  and  in  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and 
Maryland  there  were  provincial  congresses  ; all  four, 
in  spite  of  their  anomalous  position,  were  raising  money, 
troops,  and  supplies  for  Washington  and  his  army. 

Such  were  the  governments  of  the  various  communi- 
ties which  were  now  united  in  purpose,  and  were  either 
Beginnings  seeking  with  greater  or  less  zeal  to  secure  re- 
indepen a ent  <lress  from  England  for  the  restriction  of 
action.  their  liberties,  or  else  forcing  themselves  into 

the  alternative  of  a declaration  of  independence.  They 
had  now  an  outward  and  visible  union  both  in  their  army 
and  in  a deliberative  assembly  of  uncertain  character 
which  had  been  already  forced  into  acts  of  sovereignty, 
and  had  already  been  addressed  as  a sovereign  by  one  of 
themselves.  It  adopted  rules  and  articles  of  war  for 
the  army,  assuming  thereby  the  position  and  claiming 
the  rights  of  an  independent  belligerent.  It  appointed 
four  major-generals — Ward,  Charles  Lee,  Schuyler,  and 
Putnam — eight  brigadiers,  and  an  adjutant-general. 

In  response  to  Washington’s  representation  of  the  des- 
titution of  his  army  Congress  took  the  fatal  step  of  issu- 
ing bills  of  credit,  or  continental  currency. 
Papu  money.  rp^-g  njonCy  was  ma(je  a legal  tender  by 

threats  of  virtual  outlawry  from  the  committees  of  safety 
to  any  one  refusing  it,  and  every  colony  in  proportion  to 
its  entire  population,  not  including  Indians,  was  to  re- 
deem this  inconvertible  paper  by  a proportionate  an- 
nuity beginning  in  1779.  Depreciation  began,  of  course, 
at  once,  emissions  became  more  and  more  frequent ; 
although  the  army  had  a precarious  support,  for  a few 
years,  and  the  beginnings  of  a navy  were  made  by  means 
of  it,  yet  in  the  end  the  policy  was  nearly  fatal  to  the 
successful  conclusion  of  the  war  and  to  the  construc- 
tion of  a federal  government.  When  the  answer  to  Mas- 
sachusetts’ request  was  finally  given,  she  was  directed  to 


OVERTHROW  OF  ROYAL  AUTHORITY  209 


follow  the  usage  of  her  charter  and  to  choose  a house  of 
representatives  by  town  meetings.  Her  people  promptly 
accepted  the  plan  ; the  house  was  elected,  and  in  turn 
constituted  an  executive  council  of  twenty  - eight,  as- 
sessed taxes,  and  other-wise  performed  the  functions  of 
complete  independence. 

The  feeling  of  American  self-reliance  had  grown  in 
true  Anglo-Saxon  fashion  as  the  result  of  action  and  in 
facing  emergencies.  There  had  always  been  John  Adams 
dialecticians  in  plenty  behind  the  agitation  to  ^ ^ 
weave  an  explanatory  theory  and  spin  subtle  gress- 
legalities.  There  were,  however,  a few  minds  in  the  Eng- 
lish colonies  trained  in  the  broad  discipline  of  history, 
understanding  that  development  must  be  on  hues  of  nat- 
ure and  habit.  Such  a mind  was  that  of  John  Adams, 
hitherto  an  interested  onlooker  ; but  now,  when  assured 
of  the  true  character  of  the  movement,  he  strove  as  a par- 
ticipator to  direct  it  and  began  to  share  its  responsibili- 
ties. He  would  have  had  the  continental  congress  take 
the  throne  of  sovereignty,  even  at  the  risk  of  temporary 
usiu’pation,  sanction  the  institution  of  limited  govern- 
ments in  every  colony,  and  so  create  a strong,  central, 
taxing  power  able  to  defy  the  mother-country.  But  pub- 
lic opinion  would  not  have  supported  such  a radical 
course  just  at  this  juncture.  With  statesman-like  wis- 
dom he  delayed  making  a formal  proposition,  and  Con- 
gress still  had  to  grope  its  way,  offsetting  one  act  of  dar- 
ing by  another  of  timidity.  There  was  no  hope  of  union 
except  in  continued  compromise,  for  without  New  York 
and  Pennsylvania  there  could  be  no  lasting  structure. 

Yet  for  a time  acts  which  we  now  recognize  as  those 
of  a sovereign  were  frequent.  Armed  vessels  had  been 
fitted  out,  first  under  Washington’s  authorization  as  com- 
mander-in-chief, and  their  prize  cases  had  been  adjudi- 
cated by  a Massachusetts  court  of  admiralty.  Congress 
14 


210  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


now  assumed  the  task  of  creating  a navy  and  chose  a 
flag.  The  stripes  in  an  early  English  merchant  flag  were 

The  first  increased  to  thirteen  in  number,  one  for  each 
American  flag.  coiony;  in  alternate  red  and  white  as  they  are 
to-day,  with  the  crosses  of  St.  George  and  St.  Andrew  on 
a blue  ground  in  the  corner.  It  -was  raised  for  the  first 
time  over  Washington's  head-quarters  on  New  Year’s 
Day,  1776.  Eranklin  was  commissioned  to  create  a post- 
office.  Congress  continued,  moreover,  to  seize  supplies  ; 
it  garrisoned  fortresses  on  the  Hudson,  disarmed  loyal- 
ists in  the  Mohawk  Valley  and  Long  Island,  and  ordered 
the  arrest  of  Tryon,  although  he  escaped. 

At  the  close  of  its  first  session  in  July,  with  the  humil- 
ity becoming  to  British  subjects  and  the  determination 
of  English  remonstrants  strangely  combined, 
tious  of  Con-  it  resolved  to  export  nothing  directly  to  Great 
Britain,  nor  to  the  West  Indian  islands  of 
the  British  and  other  powers.  The  English  war  vessels 
in  the  harbor  of  New  York  would  no  doubt  have  been 
ready  to  enforce  this  legislation  for  them  ! But  fortu- 
nately, in  spite  of  Isaac  Sears’s  attempt  to  bring  on  hos- 
tilities, in  which  Alexander  Hamilton,  still  a madcap 
student  of  Columbia  College  was  a volunteer,  moderate 
men  like  Livingston  and  Jay,  assisted  by  the  reasonable 
though  radical  Macdougall,  managed  to  maintain  a truce. 
Its  duration  was  long  enough  to  accumulate  very  consid- 
erable stores  of  powder  through  American  ships  trading 
with  St.  Eustatius. 

The  course  of  affairs  was  no  more  smooth  nor  consist- 
ent in  England  than  in  America.  Bichard  Penn  arrived 
Th  in  due  season,  but  the  news  of  Bunker  Hill 

to  Parliament  had  preceded  him  and  the  administration 
reiected 

would  pay  no  attention  to  the  humble  peti- 
tion of  Congress.  The  country  was  even  yet  half-hearted  ; 
men  were  no  easier  to  enlist  now  than  before,  although 


OVERTHROW  OF  ROYAL  AUTHORITY  211 


the  pliant  Parliament  would  furnish  even  greater  sup- 
plies to  the  king.  Rockingham,  Shelburne,  and  the 
other  friends  of  America  were  helpless,  and  could  only 
endure.  Robertson  supported  the  liberal  cause,  Hume's 
philosophy  made  him  the  bulwark  of  tyranny.  Adam 
Smith,  with  his  greater  genius,  spoke  the  enduring  words 
which  justified  the  attitude  of  the  colonies.  Later  a 
great  pamphlet  on  Liberty,  the  author  of  which  was 
Richard  Price,  appeared,  and  most  beneficently  consoli- 
dated liberal  feeling  in  its  darkest  hours.  Its  definition 
of  liberty  as  a government  of  laws  made  by  common  con- 
sent was  elaborated  into  a masterly  plea  for  the  colo- 
nists, and  the  author  foretold  that  a conflict  over  the 
same  principle  would  one  day  reform  the  House  of  Com- 
mons. 

But  the  ministry  recalled  Gage,  and  refusing  concilia- 
tion prepared  a proclamation  which  was  issued  on  Au- 
gust 23d,  1775,  declaring  the  Americans  to  be 
rebels,  and  threatening  with  condign  punish-  cans  p fo- 
ment both  them  and  their  abettors  in  Eng-  c aimeduhtL- 
land.  In  October  the  prosecution  of  the  civil  war  was 
authorized  in  due  constitutional  form.  The  following 
May  was  to  see  the  vacillating  cabinet  attempt  to  retrace 
its  steps,  but  in  the  interval  the  king  began  to  ransack 
Europe  for  the  men  which  his  own  kingdom  could  not 
yield.  For  a time  he  cherished  the  illusory  hope  that 
Catherine  H.  of  Russia  would  give  him  twenty  thou- 
sand ; but  she  failed  him  in  the  crisis,  and  at  last,  prob- 
ably through  the  influence  of  Vergennes,  and  with  the  li- 
cense of  feminine  fickleness,  advised  him  to  yield  the  dis- 
puted points.  The  stubborn  but  inventive  ruler  then 
demanded  of  Holland  the  return  of  the  Scotch  Brigade, 
which,  of  course,  survived  only  in  name.  In  the  seven- 
teenth century  its  predecessor,  among  other  British 
troops,  had  been  sent  to  occupy  certain  fortresses  in  that 


212  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


country  as  security  for  Elizabeth’s  loan  of  1599.  The 
Dutch  now  debated  with  characteristic  delay,  and  gave 
the  wily  answer  that  he  might  have  it  as  a loan  if  he 
would  promise  not  to  use  it  outside  of  Europe. 

There  remained  the  Germans  as  a last  resource.  The 
Peace  of  Westphalia  had  splintered  that  unhappy  peo- 
ple, and  left  every  princelet  a complete  li- 
Purchase  of  ^ •/  .l  r 

troops  by  cense  to  dispose  without  control  of  land  and 

Geoi^o  ii  . subjects  ; almost  every  little  court  had  be- 
come bankrupt  in  imitating  the  vices  of  Versailles. 
There  was  an  awakened  public  conscience  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  and  the  feeble  Diet  had  forbidden  en- 
listment by  foreign  powers.  But  the  presence  of 
George’s  agents  was  ignored  or  winked  at.  His  con- 
tracts were  nominally  with  private  persons.  In  Han- 
over, Waldeck,  Brunswick,  and  Hesse  Cassel  the  scanda- 
lous traffic  was  most  successful  at  prices  ranging  from 
thirty  to  forty  dollars,  and  even  higher,  for  each  man  and 
life.  The  minor  details  of  advanced  pay  and  subsidies, 
of  three  wounded  to  count  as  one  dead,  and  the  like,  seem 
incredible.  First  and  last,  upward  of  twenty-six  thou- 
sand men  were  sold  to  the  English  king,  and  his  treat- 
ies were  calmly  ratified  in  Parliament,  but  not  without 
a warning  given  that  the  colonies  too  could  appeal  to 
foreign  powers. 

On  August  1st,  1775,  Congress  had  adjourned  for  five 
weeks.  When  the  members  reassembled  they  voted  that 
a confederacy  must  be  their  last  resort,  and 
t ftu'fnr;5  the  in  the  face  of  all  the  facts  which  now  reveal 
their  meaning  so  clearly  but  were  to  them 
of  uncertain  significance  and  only  partially  known,  ad- 
dressed a second  petition  to  the  king,  asking  for  a resto- 
ration of  the  status  antecedent  to  1763  and  disavowing 
the  desire  for  independence.  The  truth  is  that  Congress, 
for  the  remaining  months  of  the  year,  stood  awe-stricken 


OVERTHROW  OF  ROYAL  AUTHORITY  213 

before  its  responsibilities.  Severe  restrictions  were  put 
on  many  of  the  delegates  not  to  plan  or  contemplate,  at 
least  openly,  a rupture  with  the  mother  country.  Their 
compliance  was  seen  in  the  second  humble  petition  and 
the  continued  embargo  on  their  own  commerce.  Both 
moderates  and  radicals,  therefore,  were  thoroughly  dis- 
heartened at  the  close  of  1775,  the  former  by  the  con- 
duct of  England,  the  latter  by  the  continuous  depression 
of  trade  and  the  shilly-shallying  of  Congress. 

Such  times  make  strange  companionships.  In  these 
dark  days  had  been  formed  a group  of  men  representing 
the  two  extremes  of  then  existing  religious  Action  of  the 
beliefs,  but  unanimous  in  the  conviction  that  patriots, 
the  time  for  radical  political  action  had  arrived.  It  was 
composed  of  Samuel  Adams  and  Benjamin  Franklin, 
Bittenhouse  and  Clymer,  together  with  an  acquaintance 
who  had  been  for  two  years  in  America,  Thomas  Paine. 
The  latter  was  the  son  of  a Norfolk  Quaker  who  had  im- 
bibed the  extremest  radicalism  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, and  having  been  by  turns  a marine,  an  exciseman, 
a teacher  of  English,  and  a local  politician,  was  now  a 
professional  agitator  with  the  motto — where  liberty  is 
not  there  is  my  country.  These  friends  knew  that  the 
common  people  of  the  colonies  had  far  outrun  their 
leaders  in  comprehending  the  situation  ; that  discon- 
tent with  the  present  anarchy  was  rife  ; that  popular  sa- 
gacity recognized  independence  as  the  only  possible 
remedy  for  the  evils  into  which  they  had  drifted.  They 
determined  to  make  an  appeal  to  the  court  of  last  resort, 
the  general  sentiment. 

Accordingly,  on  January  8th,  1776,  appeared  the  famous 
pamphlet  from  the  pen  of  Paine,  to  which  Benjamin 
Kush  had  given  the  felicitous  title,  “Common  Sense.” 
It  was  a remarkable  essay,  masterly  in  its  simple  style, 
its  lucidity,  and  its  argument.  Separation  and  the 


214  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


establishment  of  a republic  were  its  plea,  a plea  which 
was  soon  enforced  by  the  news  of  the  king’s  attitude 
“Common  or»  the  opening  of  Parliament.  The  effect 
Sense.”  was  instantaneous.  The  subtle  influence  on 
the  colonists  of  a complete  and  adequate  expression  of 
their  sentiments  made  their  blood  course  in  a quicker 
flood.  So  overwhelming  was  the  tide  that  the  New  York 
assembly  appointed  a committee  to  prepare  an  answTer, 
but  the  committee  decided  that  none  could  be  given. 
Franklin  and  Adams  agreed  to  agitate  for  confederation. 

Washington  was  still  watching  before  Boston,  and 
such  was  the  infection,  that  even  Congress  grew  impa- 
Effect  on  * Flit  for  action.  He  could  give  no  stronger 
t’he’foimtryIld  Pro°*  greatness  than  to  risk  his  popular- 
ity as  he  did  by  quiet  perseverance  in  his 
chosen  rule  of  the  modern  Fabius.  They  themselves  de- 
termined that  the  provinces  were  at  least  free  enough 
to  guarantee  their  own  welfare  by  contracting  alliances 
if  necessary.  In  spite  of  repeated  and  formal  protesta- 
tions from  Pennsylvania  of  loyalty  to  the  king,  the  work 
of  raising  men  and  funds  went  forward,  A most  impor- 
tant measure  of  retaliation  against  Parliament  was  taken 
in  the  authorization  of  privateering,  and  the  king  was 
charged  with  being  the  author  of  all  their  troubles  be- 
cause he  had  treated  their  petitions  with  scorn.  Finally 
a decisive  step  was  taken.  In  defiance  of  the  Naviga- 
tion Acts,  American  ports  were  opened  to  the  commerce 
of  the  world,  and  the  importation  of  slaves  was  forbid- 
den. Samuel  Adams  thought  in  April  that  independence 
was  virtually  secured. 

The  great  idea  of  his  distinguished  namesake  was  not 
diminished  in  importance  by  these  events,  and  he  now 
felt  sure  that  “ without  the  least  convulsion  or  animos- 
ity ” a legal  government  could  be  constituted  within  a 
month,  deriving  its  authority  and  sanctions  from  the 


OVERTHROW  OF  ROT  AL  AUTHORITY  215 


people.  In  May,  therefore,  John  Adams  brought  for- 
ward his  proposition  that  “each  one  of  the  united  col- 
onies, where  no  government  sufficient  to  the  „ , 

° . Fmai  over- 

exigencies  of  their  affairs  had  as  yet  been  throw  of  royal 
° authority. 

established,  should  adopt  such  government  as 
would  in  the  opinion  of  the  representatives  of  the  people 
best  conduce  to  the  happiness  and  safety  of  their  constit- 
uents in  particular  and  of  America  in  general.”  For  two 
days  it  was  resisted.  Pennsylvania  clung  to  her  proprie- 
tary government  and  her  allegiance,  while  Duane  felt  that 
the  New  York  delegation  had  no  authorization  for  such 
action.  On  the  tenth  it  passed.  This  was  the  culmina- 
tion of  the  successive  measures  by  which  Congress  had 
gradually  overturned  the  authority  of  the  crown  and 
substituted  that  of  the  people.  The  colonies  were  never 
for  a moment  independent  states.  Separate  declara- 
tions of  independence  there  were,  but  they  had  reference 
merely  to  a provisional  government  under  a union  ante- 
cedently achieved  in  reality,  if  not  formally.  The  loose, 
uncertain  character  of  the  continental  congress  does  not 
alter  the  sovereign  nature  of  its  acts  nor  the  sufficiency 
of  its  representative  capacity.  Its  members  were  at  least 
as  regularly  selected  as  those  of  the  English  Parliament 
then  sitting,  in  accordance  with  precedents  and  tradi- 
tions quite  as  valid  in  America  as  those  which  formed 
the  English  constitution  were  in  England.  And  what- 
ever the  theory,  the  fact  is  that  any  measure  of  indepen- 
dence ever  enjoyed  by  any  one  of  the  thirteen  original 
colonies  was  gained  by  membership  in  a confederation 
which  fought  as  a unit  for  external  sovereignty,  won  it 
by  united  action,  and  was  finally  recognized  by  other 
nations  not  as  a temporary  league  of  independent  states, 
but  as  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  XVHL 


THE  MOVEMENT  FOR  INDEPENDENCE— JANUARY-JUNE, 

1776 

Parliament  Declines  Redress — The  Ministry  Proposes  Pardon- 
Danger  to  English  Institutions — The  Colonies  Temporize — 
French  Agents  in  America — France  Had  Two  Motives  for 
Interference — Plan  of  Vergennes — English  Strength  in  New 
York — Sears  and  Charles  Lee — The  City  Fortified — North  Caro- 
lina Tories  Routed — The  British  before  Charleston — Bombard- 
ment of  the  City — Success  of  the  Defence — New  Common- 
wealths— Virginia — Debates  in  Congress — New  York  Hesitates 
— Overthrow  of  the  Proprietary  Assembly  in  Pennsylvania. 

Grafton,  although  himself  a cabinet  minister,  had  al- 
ready warned  the  king  that  he  was  the  'victim  of  deceit. 

„ The  answer  was  that  Parliament  was  behind 

Parliament  . 

declines  re-  the  war  and  would  support  it.  Carleton  had 

been  made  commander-in  chief  of  Canada  and 
Howe  in  the  colonies.  Chatham  introduced  a bill  in 
January,  1776,  to  repeal  the  late  acts,  to  leave  the  char- 
ters secure,  to  recall  the  troops,  and  abandon  taxation. 
A colonial  congress  was  to  determine  what  America 
should  contribute  to  the  payment  of  the  public  debt,  and 
how  the  contribution  should  be  raised.  A similar  bill 
was  offered  by  Burke  for  the  consideration  of  the  House 
of  Commons.  Both  were  rejected  with  contempt  and 
the  king  was  apparently  justified. 

But  the  American  news  which  arrived  during  the  en- 
suing months  was  alarming,  even  to  king  and  Parliament. 
On  May  6th,  North  and  his  new  Secretary  for  the  Colo- 


THE  MOVEMENT  FOE  INDEPENDENCE  217 


nies,  Lord  George  Germain,  made  another  futile  attempt 
at  conciliation.  General  Howe  and  his  brother  the  ad- 
miral, were  commissioned  to  pardon  those  . . 

I he  minis- 

who  repented  of  disloyalty,  and  to  abandon  try  proposes 

r pardon. 

taxation  ; the  charters,  however,  were  to  be 
revised.  It  is  difficult  to  believe  in  the  sincerity  of  such 
half-way  measures,  which  bear  on  their  face  the  stamp  of 
political  chicane,  and  were  intended  partly  to  consolidate 
a parliamentary  majority,  partly  to  deceive  the  public  by 
the  appearance  of  magnanimity  into  the  support  of  an 
unpopular  cause. 

And  yet,  critical  as  was  the  situation  of  English  affairs, 
observers  of  European  politics  must  have  felt  the  empire 
founded  on  the  old  principles  reasserted  by  Dangert0 
the  events  of  1688  to  be  more  solid  than  any  English  msti- 

_ y tntions. 

other.  It  is  true  that  Hume,  the  arch-sceptic 
in  an  age  of  scepticism,  had  proved  to  his  own  satisfac- 
tion the  unlawfulness  of  deposing  tyrants,  and  foretold 
that  the  English  constitution  must  therefore  end  in  abso- 


lutism. Current  events,  too,  seemed  to  justify  him.  But 
on  the  Continent  sounder  thinkers  understood  that  an 
age  of  negations  had  long  since  undermined  the  foun- 
dations of  existing  institutions,  by  destroying  that  form 
of  faith  on  which  they  had  been  built.  The  shell  was 
hollow  and  would  collapse,  but  somewhere  new  convic- 
tions of  a positive  moral  quality  would  reconstruct  a new 
system  of  government. 

In  the  temporary  eclipse  of  English  understanding, 
the  task  which  had  been  begun  was  to  be  taken  up 
by  the  American  colonies.  Their  faith  in  the  The  co]o 
right  and  their  moral  courage  seemed  strong  ™es  tempo- 
enough,  but  their  material  resources  were  felt 
to  be  disproportionate  to  the  task.  It  must  be  confessed, 
moreover,  that  in  the  ferment  of  opinions  and  discussion 
there  had  been  a poor  display  of  practical  common  sense. 


218  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


Congress  had  craftily  avoided  the  laying  of  direct  taxes, 
and  the  last  thing  thought  of  by  the  uneasy  provisional 
governments  of  the  various  colonies  was  to  create  a com- 
mon treasury  or  do  more  than  meet  the  present  emer- 
gency by  any  shift,  however  impolitic.  Aid  came  from  a 
land  which  more  than  any  other  in  Europe  had  suffered 
from  the  evils  of  absolutism. 

France  had  a double  interest  in  the  development  of 
American  affairs.  The  old  French  and  Indian  war  had 
_ . been  won  by  colonials,  but  she  bore  them  no 

agents  in  grudge.  The  greater  efficacy  of  her  central- 
ized government  had  prolonged  the  struggle, 
but  she  had  been  overpowered  by  the  same  forces,  now 
more  evident  in  her  old  antagonist  than  ever,  acting  too 
in  the  same  spasmodic  way.  King,  courtiers,  and  an 
able  ministry  led  by  Vergennes,  all  knew  alike  that  their 
country  was  financially  debilitated  and  politically  infirm. 
They  were  reaping  a harvest  they  had  not  sown,  and  the 
spirit  of  independence  rife  in  America  might  react  on  a 
monarchy  so  unstable  in  its  equilibrium.  But  a success- 
ful revenge  on  their  hereditary  enemy  might  carry  them 
over  the  crisis,  and  for  a time  the  ministers  dismissed 
their  fears,  equivocated  with  the  English  embassador,  and 
sent  agents  to  report  on  the  state  of  the  colonists.  Each 
successive  one — Bonvouloir,  de  Rayneval,  and  the  rest — 
assumed  more  and  more  of  a diplomatic  quality,  though 
nominally  without  any  commission  but  the  lowest. 
Beaumarchais,  the  brilliant  man  of  letters  but  unsafe 
statesman,  was  at  the  same  time  present  in  England  as 
an  irregular  and  unattached  envoy.  The  reports  which 
reached  Vergennes  seemed  to  him  incredible.  He  had 
long  been  aware  of  the  prosperity  of  the  American  colo- 
nies, and  of  their  increase  in  population.  He  was  there- 
fore ready  to  credit  the  accounts  of  their  enthusiasm. 
But  it  is  said  that  the  folly  of  George  and  his  ministers 


THE  MOVEMENT  FOR  INDEPENDENCE  2i9 


seemed  to  liim  impossible,  and  that  his  incredulity  crip- 
pled for  a moment  his  activity.  Bonvouloir’s  statements 
about  America  were  full  and  truthful,  though  not  flatter- 
ing, and  explain  the  situation  well.  At  his  suggestion 
Congress  refrained  from  appointing  a plenipotentiary 
when  they  formed  their  committee  to  correspond  with 
friends  in  foreign  countries. 

But  there  was  another  motive  than  revenge  urging 
France  to  the  support  of  the  colonies,  the  genuine  sym- 
pathy her  people  felt  with  the  spirit  of  free-  France  had 
dom  abroad  in  the  world.  The  quickenings 
of  liberty  were  strong  in  French  breasts,  the  ence- 
foremost  writers  believed  in  and  desired  representative 
government.  Turgot  thought  America  might  regener- 
ate politics.  It  was  feared  that  if  England  were  the  first 
to  declare  war,  her  colonies  might  recall  their  filial  alle- 
giance and  return  to  the  house  of  their  fathers.  Beaumar- 
chais therefore  urged  a participation  in  their  struggle 
before  it  was  too  late,  while  Turgot,  who  was  more  an 
economist  than  a philosopher,  believed  and  said  that  such 
was  the  enthusiasm  of  the  colonists  for  liberty,  they  could 
never  be  subdued  ; in  Anew,  however,  of  the  exhausted  re- 
sources of  his  native  land,  he  felt  that  she  should  refrain 
from  war.  By  various  influences,  the  king  was  neverthe- 
less won  to  the  opposite  policy.  Silas  Deane,  the  secret 
agent  of  Congress  for  purchasing  supplies,  was  instructed 
to  say  that  in  the  event  of  separation  France  was  the  power 
“ whose  friendship  it  would  be  fittest  for  us  to  obtain 
and  cultivate.”  He  was  to  ask  for  clothing  and  arms  for 
twenty-five  thousand  men,  for  a hundred  field-pieces  and 
the  necessary  ammunition.  The  cabinet  deliberated  a 
month.  The  tide  of  public  opinion  was  swelling  into 
enthusiasm,  and  Vergennes  finally  proposed  his  plan. 

He  contemplated  secret  action  by  both  France  and 
Spain,  in  order  that  at  least  a year  might  pass  before 


220  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


England  should  leam  the  truth,  and  so  force  the  Bour- 
bon powers  into  open  war.  In  spite  of  Turgot's  warn- 
Pian  Of  Ver-  ing  the  subsidies  were  granted,  two  hundred 

gennes.  thousand  dollars  each  by  France  and  Spam. 
Before  the  end  of  the  season,  early  in  the  summer,  Beau- 
marchais was  authorized  to  tell  Arthur  Lee  that  the  colo- 
nies might  rely  on  the  king  for  a million  dollars.  This 
action  was  but  the  reflection  of  popular  zeal,  but  in  con- 
sequence Malesherbes  and  Turgot,  the  main-stays  of  the 
monarchy,  left  the  cabinet.  Such  expenditures  would 
destroy  even  the  last  vestige  of  permanency  in  the  exist- 
ing conditions  of  France. 

The  English  plan  for  the  campaign  of  1776  had  been 
partly  successful  in  the  reconquest  of  Canada.  But  the 
all-important  line  of  communication  between 
strengthen  Montreal  and  New  York,  through  Lake  Cham- 
Ne"  1 01  k'  plain  and  the  Hudson,  was  held  by  the  Amer- 
icans, even  if  with  a very  precarious  tenure.  It  was  but 
a shattered,  pest  - stricken,  and  disheartened  remnant 
which  occupied  Crown  Point.  The  condition  of  affairs 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  at  the  other  end,  was  anoma- 
lous : the  moderate  patriots  in  control  and  under  a kind 
of  truce  making  ready  for  war,  the  town  itself  to  all  out- 
ward appearance  as  loyal  as  ever,  and  the  radical  patriots 
divided  between  the  temporary,  uneasy  acquiescence  of 
Macdougall,  and  the  fiery,  mischievous  zeal  of  Sears. 

The  latter  had  betaken  himself  in  January  to  Washing- 
ton’s camp  before  Boston,  and  there  won  over  Charles 
Sears  and  Lee  to  his  schemes.  This  English  adventurer 


Charles  Lee. 


had  fought  with  more  or  less  distinction  dur- 


ing the  Seven  Years’  War,  had  brought  his  laurels  to 
Virginia,  and  from  the  outset  paraded  them  so  skilfully, 
that  he  was  not  only  one  of  the  four  major-generals  ap- 
pointed by  Congress,  of  equal  honor  with  the  intrepid 
Schuyler,  the  dignified  and  trustworthy  Ward,  the  enthu- 


THE  MOVEMENT  FOR  INDEPENDENCE  221 


siastic  and  dashing  Putnam,  but  be  even  had  it  whispered 
that,  should  the  reins  grow  slack  in  Washington’s  hands, 
he  was  the  man  to  gather  them  up. 

Sir  Henry  Clinton  was  at  that  moment  leaving  Boston 
with  an  expedition  the  destination  of  which  was  uncer- 
tain. Washington  consented  that  Lee  should  The  city  forti_ 
adopt  Sears’s  proposition,  raise  volunteers  in  fied- 
Connecticut,  make  sure  of  New  York,  and  destroy  the 
Tory  influence  which  was  represented  to  be  dominant. 
Suspicions  were  aroused  in  many  minds  by  Lee’s  conduct, 
but  he  enlisted  two  regiments,  made  Sears  his  lieutenant- 
colonel,  and  by  permission  of  the  committee  of  safety  en- 
tered New  York  on  February  4th,  the  very  day  on  which, 
to  the  angry  surprise  of  the  inhabitants,  Clinton’s  ships 
came  up  the  harbor.  The  fleet,  however,  soon  passed  on 
to  its  destination  in  North  Carolina,  and  Lee  began  the 
erection  of  fortifications  to  command  the  East  River  and 
the  Hudson.  Such  was  his  earnestness  and  success,  so 
bitter  the  invective  which  he  heaped  on  England  and 
her  ministers,  so  certain  was  he  that  the  die  was  cast  and 
independence  assured,  that  he  soon  became  the  idol  not 
only  of  the  people,  but  of  many  among  the  ablest  men  in 
Congress,  including  Franklin  and  John  Adams.  On 
March  1st  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
American  forces  south  of  the  Potomac,  and  on  May  7tli 
he  left  for  his  post. 

The  second  part  of  the  plan  for  1776  was  to  restore 
the  king’s  authority  in  the  Southern  colonies.  Seven 
regiments  under  Cornwallis  were  despatched 
from  Cork  in  December,  and  these  were  to  be  i j n a Tories 
conveyed  by  the  fleet  of  Sir  Peter  Parker  to  routed‘ 
the  mouth  of  the  Cape  Fear  River,  to  co-operate  under 
Clinton,  as  commander-in  chief,  with  the  North  Carolina 
loyalists.  But  the  rising  of  the  settlers  was  premature 
and  had  been  as  unsuccessful  as  that  of  1745,  for  partici- 


222  THE  FEE  X OH  WAR  A HD  THE  RET  OLCTIOX 


pating  in  which  many  of  these  very  Scotch  Highlanders 
were  now  in  Am  erica.  It  was  a strange  turn  that  brought 
Allan  Macdonald  of  Kingsborougli.  and  Flora,  his  wife, 
famous  for  the  rescue  of  Charles  Ed  ward  Stewart,  under 
arms  again,  but  this  time  in  North  Carolina  and  for  the 
hated  House  of  Hanover.  Of  such  men  there  were  seven 
hundred,  and  of  their  sympathizers  Jive  hundred,  although 
live  thousand  were  promised.  But  the  Americans  were 
not  apathetic,  and  a second  time  the  patriots  of  the 
South  proved  their  courage.  Being  matched  with  their 
equals  their  success  was  complete.  They  made  their 
stand  under  Caswell  on  Morris  Creek,  about  twenty 
miles  from  Wilmington,  and  on  .January  27th  engaged 
the  enemy.  The  rout  of  the  Tories  was  complete,  some 
nine  hundred  prisoners  being  taken,  and  by  April,  when 
Clinton’s  arrival  was  expected,  the  whole  colony  was 
united  against  him. 

Not  until  May,  however,  did  the  English  fleet  enter 
the  Cape  F ear.  Learning  that  his  allies  were  crashed, 
the  commander-in-clrief  sailed  away  to  attack 

The  British  , . * 

before  Charles-  Charleston  before  the  American  works  on 
Sullivan’s  Island  should  be  completed  and 
the  place  thus  rendered  impregnable.  The  humor  of 
South  Carolina  was  well  illustrated  in  the  device  which 
her  convention  had  chosen  in  February,  on  the  adoption 
of  a constitution.  It  was  the  rattlesnake  with  thirteen 
rattles  and  the  motto  : “Don’t  tread  on  me.”  From  the 
opening  of  the  year,  labor  on  their'  fortifications  had  been 
incessant  Butledge,  the  president,  was  a man  of  the 
highest  character,  determined  to  assert  the  independence 
which  the  convention  had  declared,  and  about  him  were 
men  of  equal  courage,  perseverance,  and  resources — 
Gadsden,  Moultrie,  and  the  like.  When  Armstrong  came 
at  the  command  of  Congress,  to  superintend  the  defence 
of  Charleston,  but  little  remained  to  be  done.  When 


THE  MOVEMENT  FOE  INDEPENDENCE  223 


Lee  finally  arrived,  on  -June  4th,  he,  however,  could 
find  nothing  as  it  should  be,  and  his  overbearing,  queru- 
lous temper  would  have  brought  disaster  but  for  the  wis- 
dom and  firmness  of  Butledge,  which  enabled  Moultrie 
to  complete  his  wort  on  the  all-important  island.  Six 
thousand  men  were  assembled  as  a garrison. 


On  June  2Sth,  the  British,  having  spent  nearly  a 
month  in  preparation  and  reconnoitring,  began  the  at- 
tack. The  bombardment  was  fierce  and  skil- 

Bomb  a r a - 

fuL  but  the  soft  palmetto  logs  and  sand-banis  went  of  the 
of  Moultrie’s  F ort  were  not  seriously  affected  CiL'  ’ 
by  either  shell  or  cannon-ball.  A manoeuvre  by  which  it 
was  hoped  to  surround  the  fortifications  and  enfilade 
them  was  unsuccessful  for  one  of  the  three  vesseLs 
grounded,  and  had  to  be  burned  to  prevent  her  falling 
into  the  enemy’s  hands.  The  rest  of  the  fleet  suffered 
seriously  from  the  American  fire,  which,  though  of  ne- 
cessity slow,  was  most  skilful  and  effective.  They  had, 
moreover,  fallen  into  a position  from  which  an  adverse 
wind  and  tide  made  it  impossible  to  withdraw,  and  two 
vessels,  being  battered  into  wrecks,  the  men  on  the  oth- 
ers grew  anxious  and  disheartened.  Finally,  a body  of 
seven  regiments  which  ha  :1  been  landed  on  Long  Island, 
and  were  to  pass  over  to  Sullivan’s  Island  for  an  assault, 
found  the  strait  between  the  two  deeper  than  they  sup- 
posed, and  impassable.  They  spent  their  day,  therefore, 
impotent  witnesses  of  a disaster  they  could  not  help  to 
avert. 

Toward  nine  at  night  the  tide  served,  the  vessels  drew 
out,  re-embarked  the  troops,  and  made  sail  for  Hew 
York.  There  had  been  four  hundred  and  SlIccessof  he 
thirty-five  Americans  in  the  fort  : of  these,  defence, 
eleven  were  killed  and  twenty-seven  wounded.  The  Eng- 
lish loss  was  seventy-three  killed  and  a hundred  and 
twen tv- seven  wounded.  The  dav  crowned  the  South 


224  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


with  laurels.  The  daring  and  courage  of  the  men 
dimmed  the  glories  even  of  Bunker  Hill.  When  the  flag 
of  the  fortification,  which  has  thenceforth  been  known  as 
Fort  Moultrie,  was  shot  away,  Sergeant  Jasper  leaped 
through  an  embrasure,  and  under  the  hottest  fire  caught 
up  the  standard  and  planted  it  on  a bastion.  “ I am  dy- 
ing,” exclaimed  Macdonald,  a common  soldier,  “but 
don’t  let  the  cause  of  liberty  expire  with  me  this  day.” 
Nearly  three  years  elapsed  before  these  heroes  were 
called  again  to  drive  the  British  from  their  land.  With- 
in a short  time  the  English  troops  from  Charleston  joined 
in  New  York  the  Boston  force  which  had  come  down 
from  Halifax,  and  excepting  the  island  of  Manhattan,  the 
soil  of  the  thirteen  colonies  was  untrodden  by  English 
regulars. 

The  two  Carolinas  had  thus  not  only  declared,  but  in 
a sense  established,  their  freedom  from  English  con- 
New  common-  troL  Georgia  was  united  with  them  in  heart 

■wealths.  ail  <J  action.  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island 
had  together  thrown  off  the  trammels  of  English  rule. 
New  Hampshire  was  energetic  in  the  work  of  indepen- 
dence. Connecticut,  in  the  liberty  she  enjoyed  as  an 
English  colony,  had  entered  on  the  most  complete  par- 
ticipation in  the  activity  of  her  New  England  sisters. 

In  May  the  constituent  assembly  of  Virginia  met  to 
complete  her  separation  from  England,  to  establish  a 
constitution,  and  to  promote  union.  So  far 
= “ she  had  been  the  leader  in  organization  and 
suggestion,  if  not  in  action.  Could  a community  of  aris- 
tocratic social  character,  with  the  English  Church  as  an 
establishment,  keep  at  the  head  of  a movement  so  demo- 
cratic ? Mason  had  written  in  his  fundamental  and 
admirable  declaration  of  rights  the  word  “toleration.” 
Madison,  who  was  already  influential,  would  not  hear  of 
the  condescension  implied  in  the  word,  and  plead  “ that 


THE  MOVEMENT  FOR  INDEPENDENCE  225 


all  men  are  equally  entitled  to  the  free  exercise  of  relig- 
ion, according  to  the  dictates  of  conscience.”  The  word 
was  stricken  out — a small  matter,  perhaps,  but  conclu- 
sive as  to  the  adaptabihty  of  that  line  commonwealth  for 
continued  leadership.  The  convention  completed  its 
work  on  July  1st,  aud  Virginia  became  a State.  Could 
her  political  guides  have  transcended  their  age  by  two 
generations,  and  have  granted  equal  rights,  civil  and  po- 
litical, to  their  slaves,  the  Old  Dominion  would  still  be 
united,  and  probably  wield  the  sceptre  of  hegemony 
among  the  States  which  she  did  so  much  to  create. 

John  Adams’s  resolution  in  Congress  had  virtually 
ended  the  Proprietary  Government  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  old  Assembly,  after  long  wrangling  Debates  in 
over  instructions  to  their  delegates  against  Congress, 
separation,  finally  sanctioned  confederation  and  foreign 
alliances,  but  refused  to  hear  of  independence.  The 
same  day,  June  8th,  began  the  debate  on  the  resolution 
introduced  for  Virginia  by  Richard  Henry  Lee,  “ that 
these  united  colonies  are  and  of  right  ought  to  be 
free.”  Two  days  later  the  discussion  was  postponed  for 
three  weeks,  that  the  delegates  of  the  central  colonies 
might  consult  their  constituents.  But  committees  were 
appointed  to  deliberate  on  the  three  crucial  questions  of 
the  hour  : The  declaration  of  independence,  the  form  of 
confederation,  and  treaties  with  foreign  powers. 

The  flood  which  was  thus  let  loose  upon  New  York 
and  Pennsylvania  was  irresistible.  Delaware  had  prompt- 
ly obeyed  the  call  of  Virginia  in  all  these  sum-  New  York 
mouses.  New  Jersey  gave  full  powers  to  her  hesitates. 
Assembly,  which  met  on  June  11th,  and  adopted  a con- 
stitution inspired  by  Witherspoon,  but  written  by  Jacob 
Green,  the  Presbyterian  minister  of  Hanover.  The  con- 
vention also  voted  for  a government  according  to  the 
recommendation  of  Congress,  and  for  the  support  of 
15 


226  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


tlie  army.  The  overthrow  of  old  institutions  seemed  a 
very  serious  step  to  New  York,  with  her  large  and  in- 
fluential Tory  population.  Her  borders,  too,  were  men- 
aced by  savages,  and  thirty  thousand  English  veterans 
were  soon  to  occupy  the  capital.  John  Jay  declared 
that  until  after  the  second  petition  to  the  king — writ- 
ten in  1775  by  Dickinson— he  heard  no  American  ex- 
press a desire  for  independence,  and  even  yet  many  of 
the  moderate  patriots  were  making  qualified,  but  unwa- 
vering, professions  of  loyalty.  But  now,  at  last,  he  could 
prove  the  hopelessness  of  redress  by  the  reception  of 
that  petition,  and  on  June  11th  the  electors  were  called 
on  to  give  full  powers  for  declaring  independence  to  the 
newly  chosen  delegates.  They  refused. 

The  Pennsylvania  Assembly,  overwhelmed  wflth  dis- 
grace and  disowned  in  popular  estimation,  was  dismissed 
Overthrow  ^y  a grea^  mass  meeting  from  further  duty, 
of  ^the  Pro-  On  June  18tli  a provincial  conference  of  new 
semb'iy  in  men  met,  and  without  hesitancy  usurped  the 
Pennsylvania.  p0werg  ()£  ^he  body  -which  had  adjourned  for 

two  months,  voting  measures  of  defence  and  concurring 
in  the  resolution  of  Congress  for  independence.  In  Mary- 
land the  course  of  affairs  w7as  smoother.  The  governor 
withdrew,  and  a constitutional  convention  was  called. 


CHAPTEB  XIX. 


INDEPENDENCE  AND  CONFEDERATION— JULY-AUGUST, 

1776 

Congress  and  the  State  Governments — Diversity  of  Opinion- 
Debate  on  the  Declaration  of  Independence — Jefferson's  Doc- 
ument Adopted — Adams  and  Witherspoon — Popular  Enthu- 
siasm— Character  of  the  Paper — Real  Nature  of  the  Confeder- 
ation— The  Appearance  of  a Separatist  Temper — Congress  to 
be  Stripped  of  Power — Conflict  between  Southern  and  North- 
ern Opinion — Local  Ideas  of  Independence  Expressed  in  the 
Articles  of  Confederation — The  Western  Lands  and  True 
Union — Inefficiency  of  Congress — Fickleness  of  the  Masses. 


Such  was  the  situation  when  the  day  arrived  for  re- 
newing in  Congress  the  debate  on  Lee’s  resolution  for 


independence.  A nice  analysis  of  the  consti- 

^ Congress 

tutional  conditions  is  impossible.  Virtually  and  the  state 
all  the  colonies  were  in  union  with  each  other  glAernmtntE- 
but  sundered  from  Great  Britain  ; virtually  they  all  had 
local  autonomy.  The  old  charters  of  Connecticut  and 
Khode  Island  were  sufficient  for  them,  even  in  their  sep- 
aration from  England.  Four  other  colonies  had  adopted 
written  constitutions  before  July  4th — New  Hampshire 
on  January  5th,  South  Carolina  on  March  6th,  Virginia 
on  July  1st,  and  New  Jersey  on  July  2d.  But  the  de- 
grees of  completeness  and  formal  legality  in  their  gov- 
ernments were  widely  different ; virtually,  too,  there  was 
a federal  government  above  them  all,  conducting  foreign 
affaii-s  and  the  cognate  department  of  war  by  the  army 
and  navy,  imposing  also  certain  principles  and  courses 


228  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

of  action  upon  the  united  provinces.  But  the  central 
power  was  inchoate  and  unwilling  to  recognize  its  own 
existence. 

And  yet  in  human  affairs,  as  in  the  sphere  of  the  super- 
natural. the  supremacy  does  not  come  by  observation. 
Diversity  of  -^e  ideas  of  dependence,  separatism,  and 

opimon.  tutelage  were  dominant  still  in  thousands  of 
minds,  among  them  many  commanding  ones.  The  steps 
taken  had  been  necessary  to  meet  the  demand  of  the  mo- 
ment in  resistance  to  oppression,  but  were  regarded  as 
temporary  and  retraceable.  Even  among  those  who  un- 
derstood and  accepted  the  logic  of  the  position  there 
were  almost  as  many  opinions  concerning  the  degree  and 
thoroughness,  not  only  of  what  had  been  done  but  of  the 
action  still  to  be  taken,  as  there  were  men  capable  of  in- 
dependent thought ; in  such  a chaos  order  is,  however, 
imminent,  and  the  hour  belongs  to  those  who  first  dis- 
cern its  germs  in  the  popular  will.  Such  amplitude  of 
discussion  by  the  masses  as  that  of  these  months  and 
weeks  was  hitherto  unknown,  even  in  America.  The 
glass  was  held  up  for  all.  Dickinson  and  his  friends 
could  not  or  would  not  see  the  brightening  reflection  of 
a new  personality  among  nations,  but  the  more  thorough 
patriots  beheld  in  it  their  justification,  and  never  faltered 
in  the  course  on  which  they  had  already  entered. 

The  committee  on  the  declaration  of  independence 
was  composed  of  Jefferson,  John  Adams,  Franklin,  Sher- 
Debate  on  man,  and  Robert  Livingston.  The  draft  of  a 
tion  ofe<inde-  document  had  been  made  by  the  first-named 
pendence.  and  submitted  separately  to  Adams  and  Frank- 
lin, each  of  whom  made  a few  unimportant  verbal  correc- 
tions. On  June  28th  it  was  submitted  as  amended  to 
Congress.  July  1st  was  the  day  appointed  for  consider- 
ing the  weighty  question.  Fifty  delegates  were  in  their 
places,  every  colony  was  represented,  and  every  delega- 


INDEPENDENCE  AND  CONFEDERATION  229 


tion  but  one  bad  power  to  act.  John  Adams,  wbo  bad 
already  won  bis  spurs  as  a debater,  opened  for  the  af- 
firmative with  power  and  passion.  Dickinson  replied  at 
length,  arguing  that  federation  should  precede  separa- 
tion. His  colleague,  Wilson,  took  the  opposite  view. 
Witherspoon  followed,  declaring  that  the  country  was 
ripe  for  independence  and  would  be  l'otten  without  it. 

When  the  vote  was  taken  on  Lee’s  motion,  New  York 
being  still  unable  to  act  for  lack  of  instruction,  both 
South  Carolina  and  a majority  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania delegates  opposing,  and  Delaware  document 
being  divided,  it  was  adopted  by  the  votes  adopted- 
of  the  nine  other  colonies.  Next  day  Jefferson’s  docu- 
ment was  presented.  The  glowing  passage  it  contained 
charging  George  HI.,  as  a criminal  indictment,  with  hav- 
ing favored  the  slave-trade  and  slavery  was  stricken  out 
by  the  desire  of  some  Southern  delegates  ; so  also  was  a 
severe  censure  on  the  people  of  England.  It  was  other- 
wise slightly  amended,  and  on  the  evening  of  July  4th, 
1776,  was  adopted,  in  the  form  familiar  to  us,  by  the 
vote  of  twelve  colonies.  The  date  of  its  adoption  is,  by 
decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  that 
of  our  legal  existence  in  questions  of  municipal  law. 

There  was  an  awe-stricken  anxiety  and  little  enthusi- 
asm in  Congress  when  they  took  this  solemn  step,  there 
was  even  discord  and  angry  passion.  Adams  Adams  and 
had  been,  as  Jefferson  said,  the  Colossus  of  Witherspoon, 
debate  ; but  we  are  told  that  toward  the  close  of  that 
momentous  day,  in  a late  hour,  the  fate  of  the  paper  was 
still  in  the  balance.  At  such  a time  all  but  giant  minds, 
and  sometimes  even  they,  feel  an  instinctive  and  uncon- 
trollable shrinking.  A trustworthy  tradition  declares 
that  it  was  a solemn  appeal  to  heaven,  made  by  Wither- 
spoon, and  the  force  of  his  own  courageous  example, 
which  turned  the  delicately  poised  scale  at  last.  Even 


230  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

then  there  was  a majority  of  hut  one,  if  the  individuals 
composing  the  delegations  be  counted. 

At  first  its  reading  made  little  impression  on  the  army 
or  on  the  people,  who,  feeling  that  the  action  was  sim- 
Popuiar  en-  1%  essential  and  but  in  obedience  to  their 

ttuidiasm.  desires,  thought  of  it  as  a matter  of  course 
and  regarded  neither  the  vigor  nor  the  form  of  the  lan- 
guage employed.  Nevertheless  there  were  exceptions  ; 
the  populace  of  Philadelphia  received  it  with  acclama- 
tions and  burned  the  emblems  of  royalty,  while  the  old 
“ liberty  bell”  of  the  state-house  rang  out  its  notes  of  joy. 
New  Jersey  with  great  military  state  formally  published 
at  Trenton  the  two  together  ; her  own  constitution  and 
the  Declaration  of  Independence.  The  fourth  provincial 
congi’ess  of  New  York,  under  the  leadership  of  Jay, 
adopted  it  on  July  9th,  and  sent  the  paper  broadcast 
over  the  State;  the  joyous  working-men  in  the  city  threw 
down  the  statue  of  George  HI.  from  its  pedestal.  In 
short,  enthusiasm  grew  in  the  progress  of  the  document 
throughout  the  land.  When  Lord  Howe,  in  accordance 
with  his  instructions,  sent  conciliatory  letters  under  a 
flag  of  truce  to  the  leaders  of  Congress,  the  reply  was  an 
engrossed  copy  sent  by  that  body,  and  the  expression  of 
a readiness  for  peace  as  between  independent  nations. 
The  only  result  of  the  negotiation  was  an  agreement  hon- 
orable to  both  parties  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners. 

For  many  years  large  numbers  in  the  United  States 
regarded  the  Declaration  of  Independence  as  inspired 
Character  of  an(-l  immortal,  although  there  were  always 
the  paper,  voices  to  pronounce  it  perfervid,  rhetorical, 
and  radical.  We  have  a calmer  judgment  now.  On  the 
one  hand  there  is  nothing  new  or  original  in  the  bill  of 
rights  it  contains,  and  so  far  from  its  initiating  a new 
government,  the  political  existence  of  the  United  States, 
as  distinct  from  the  validity  of  its  municipal  law,  dates 


INDEPENDENCE  AND  CONFEDERATION  231 


from  the  day  of  Lexington,  when  a united  people,  finding 
its  ultimatum  scorned,  resisted  force  by  force  and  began 
an  organization  which  was  neither  independent  nor  sov- 
ereign until  the  successful  issue  of  war  made  it  so.  It  is, 
moreover,  not  self-evidently  true  that  men  are  created 
“ equal,”  as  the  word  was  used  and  understood  by  its 
writer  ; it  is  time  that  the  sovereignty  of  George  III.  was 
renounced,  not  because  he  was  a king,  but  because  he  was 
a tyrant  ; there  is  in  those  two  clauses  a curious  incon- 
sistency in  the  juxtaposition  of  ideas,  at  bottom  irrecon- 
cilable with  each  other.  On  the  other  hand,  there  was 
in  the  language  of  Jefferson  a cumulative  statement  of 
grievances,  a directness  of  stinging  censure,  an  avowal  of 
irrevocable  purpose,  all  carefully  calculated  to  the  attain- 
ment of  a most  important  end  and  worthy  of  the  highest 
admiration.  In  spite  of  the  irreligious  and  extreme  rad- 
icalism which  underlies  the  implications  of  its  language, 
it  was  adopted  by  the  great  popular  majority  as  the  best 
expression  of  its  own  will,  a people  who  neither  un- 
derstood nor  sympathized  with  Rousseauism,  who  were 
both  pious  and  conservative  to  the  core,  and  who  had 
adopted  democratic-republican  institutions,  without  any 
reference  to  fine-spun  political  theories,  solely  because 
they  were  convenient,  handy,  and  in  accordance  with 
their  colonial  history,  with  their  habits  both  of  religious 
and  civil  administration. 

The  years  of  the  American  revolution  did  not  belong 
to  an  age  of  written  constitutions  and  exact  statement. 
The  first  continental  congress  was  a more  „ , 
perfectly  representative  assemblage  than  any  ^.1tt1l®nconfed" 
existing  survivor,  Parliament  or  Diet,  of  the 
early  Teutonic  custom.  Under  its  auspices  the  colonies 
formed  a union,  imperfect  but  not  ephemeral,  and  under 
that  union  they  had  separated  themselves  from  England, 
six  of  them  having  adopted,  before  the  Declaration  of 


232  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


Independence,  a satisfactory  form  of  local  government 
evolved  from  their  experience,  which  was  written  down 
by  four  of  them  as  their  charters  had  been  written.  In 
the  second  continental  congress  that  union  was  further 
completed  in  part  by  the  recommendation  to  form  gov- 
ernments not  for  separation  but  for  union,  and  in  part 
by  adopting  the  phraseology  of  Jefferson — “we,  the  peo- 
ple”— which  indicates  the  birth  of  a new  nation.  The 
feeling  and  language  of  the  American  leaders  for  the 
three  years  past  is  capable  of  no  other  meaning,  and 
there  is  evidence  that  the  people  for  some  time  so  under- 
stood the  position  of  affairs.  The  committee  of  Congress 
which  reported  a scheme  for  confederation  recommended 
that  each  colony  should  keep  “ as  much  of  its  present 
laws,  rights,  and  customs  as  it  may  think  fit,  and  reserve 
to  itself  the  sole  and  exclusive  regulation  and  government 
of  its  internal  police  in  all  matters  that  shall  not  interfere 
with  the  articles  of  confederation.”  Neither  they  nor 
anyone  at  that  moment  appeared  to  doubt  that  the  source 
of  authority  was  in  the  people  represented  by  a Congress 
which  expressed  their  union — the  continental  American 
organization — as  opposed  to  the  colonial,  separatist,  and 
European  connection  which  they  were  severing. 

But  the  American  people  and  their  leaders  had  not 

then  behind  them  a century  of  experience  in  harmoniz- 

The  appear  the  spheres  of  local  and  general  self-gov- 

ance  of  a sepa-  ernment.  The  energy  and  decision  displayed 
ratist  temper.  ...  J 

since  the  springtime  were  spent  ; the  dis- 
trust and  timidity  which  the  colonies  as  a whole  had  dur- 
ing the  ten  years  past  learned  to  feel  toward  England 
began  to  appear  in  reference  to  their  untried  experiment 
and  to  each  other.  Their  determined  colonial  policy 
had  been  for  each  to  retain  control  of  its  own  troops 
and  revenues,  furnishing  to  the  king  whatever  he  re- 
quired on  his  demand  but  by  their  own  act.  They 


INDEPENDENCE  AND  CONFEDERATION  238 


could  now  think  of  no  other  relation  to  a federal 
government. 

As  to  the  question  of  large  and  small  colonies,  which 
had  promptly  arisen  in  the  first  Congress,  there  ap- 
peared three  opinions:  one  vote  for  each  Co]1„ress 
without  regard  to  size,  representation  ac-  to be  stripped 
cording  to  population,  and  a combination  of 
both  plans.  What  was  to  become  of  the  western  lands  ? 
Should  Congress  parcel  out  the  vast  domain  northwest 
of  the  Ohio,  or  existing  claims  be  satisfied  ? As  to  a 
standing  army,  the  people  remembered  the  principles  of 
1688,  and  Congress  would  only  agree  that  each  State 
should  furnish  militia — a citizen  soldiery  enlisted  for 
short  terms,  and  therefore  unreliable  and  incapable  of 
the  highest  discipline.  In  short,  there  appeared  almost 
immediately  a determination  “ to  vest  Congress,”  as 
Rutledge  wrote,  “ with  no  more  power  than  what  is  ab- 
solutely necessary.”  In  August  there  was  still  no  out- 
come to  the  wretched  wrangle.  Congress  adjourned 
to  April,  1777,  the  articles  of  confederation  were  not 
adopted  until  November  of  that  year,  and  then  in  a form 
so  different  from  that  which  the  committee  had  reported 
as  to  be  scarcely  recognizable. 

Requisitions  for  the  support  of  the  army  were  to  be 
made  on  each  State  in  proportion  to  its  inhabitants,  but 
in  the  Southern  States  there  was  a feeling  that,  conflict  be- 
as  negroes  were  property,  and  as  there  was  a ern  and  North- 
disproportionate  number  of  blacks  in  their  ern  0piIL0n' 
borders,  there  was  a certaiu  injustice  in  this  procedure. 
The  federal  relation  began  to  gall  immediately.  In  New 
England  the  purely  democratic  character  of  town  gov- 
ernment had  not  only  created  inequalities  of  representa- 
tion in  the  colonial  assemblies,  which  continue  in  measure 
to  our  own  day,  but  had  further  emphasized  the  sover- 
eign quality  of  the  popular  voice.  The  State  legislatures 


234  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


had  from  the  outset  this  stable  basis,  that  they  came  an- 
nually direct  f’’^:n  the  people,  and  their  sphere  of  activ- 
ity embraced  tne  whole  circle  of  civil  and  political  rights. 
Congress  was  a degree  further  removed  from  the  people, 
and  existed,  moreover,  as  a war  measure.  It  was  not  easy 
for  the  most  adroit  lawyers  of  that  district,  instinctively 
and  firmly  supporting  federal  supremacy,  as  most  of 
them  did,  to  make  clear  at  the  outset,  to  either  them- 
selves or  others,  the  degree  or  the  benefit  of  federal  in- 
tervention in  the  sphere  of  legislation.  In  the  Middle 
States  both  independence  and  federation  had  reached  a 
distasteful  importance,  and  particularism  was  none  the 
less  strenuous  in  that  quarter,  because  every  social  rank 
and  political  sect  found  a different  reason  for  it.  The  in- 
disputable fact  is,  that  there  was  no  precedent  in  human 
experience  for  such  a federal  system  as  was  needed,  and 
the  work  of  the  patriots  was  near  to  destruction  both 
in  the  irritation  which  this  political  novelty  created  and  in 
the  apathetic  support  which  was  given  as  a consequence 
to  the  fighting  force,  the  army  being  the  most  palpable 
evidence  of  the  federal  relation. 

It  was  not  difficult,  therefore,  for  th~  local  legislatures 
to  establish  the  practice  of  appointing  and  dismissing 
Local  ideas  congressional  delegates  at  their  pleasure,  and 
dence express-  so  4°  turn  a revolutionary  body  with  unlim- 
cfes"  o?  con-  powers  into  a mere  creature  of  the 

federation.  States.  Before  the  articles  of  confederation 
were  adopted  they 'became,  as  Washington  said,  “a 
shade  without  substance,”  reposing  on  the  theory  that 
from  the  fourth  of  July,  1776,  each  colony  was  an  inde- 
pendent State  delegating  at  its  pleasure,  and  according 
to  its  interest,  a portion  of  its  sovereignty  for  the  regula- 
tion of  foreign  affairs,  and  retaining  every  other  function 
not  expressly  so  delegated.  The  article  to  which  refer- 
ence has  been  made  now  ran,  “ Each  State  retains  its 


INDEPENDENCE  AND  CONFEDERATION  235 


sovereignty,  freedom,  and  independence,  and  every  power, 
jurisdiction,  and  right  which  is  not  by  this  confederation 
expressly  delegated  to  the  United  States  in  Congress  as- 
sembled.” The  confederacy  was  “ a firm  league  of 
friendship.”  There  was  to  be  a single  house  in  Con- 
gress where  each  State  had  one  vote.  It  might  borrow 
money  but  not  levy  taxes,  and  all  the  security  lenders 
were  to  have  was  the  requisition  of  Congress  on  the 
States.  It  could  declare  war,  make  treaties,  and  lay  im- 
posts. It  could  not  enforce  enlistment  nor  compel  the 
support  of  the  army.  It  could  pass  laws,  but  not  compel 
obedience  ; compose  disputes  bet  ween  the  States,  but  it 
had  no  power  to  secure  their  compliance  with  its  judg- 
ment or  with  the  foreign  treaties  it  made.  Even  com- 
merce was  to  be  regulated  by  the  States. 

This  particularist  temper  was  further  shown  in  the 
article  declaring  that  “ no  State  shall  be  deprived  of  ter- 
ritory for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States.” 

New  York  still  claimed  by  right  of  conquest  ern  lands  and 
the  territory  of  the  Six  Nations,  and  the  other 
larger  States  had  claims  of  a similar  nature.  But  New 
Jersey,  Delaware,  and  Maryland  could  have  no  share  in 
the  boundless  and  fertile  West  except  as  members  of  the 
confederation.  They  therefore  rejected  the  articles  on 
account  of  this  clause,  although  all  the  other  States 
adopted  them.  New  Jersey,  however,  held  out  but  for 
one  year,  until  November,  1778,  and  Delaware  until  May, 
1779.  Maryland  alone  remained  firm  until,  in  1780, 
New  York  resigned  to  the  union  her  claim  to  any  lands 
beyond  her  present  boundary.  Virginia  reserved  her 
asserted  ownership  of  the  lands  northwest  of  the  Ohio 
until  1781,  and  then,  first,  the  waiting  State  signed  the  ar- 
ticles, thus  completing,  by  means  of  the  West,  what  west- 
ern settlement  had  already  begun,  a permanent  and  un- 
changeable union  of  the  States  in  the  face  of  theories 


236  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


and  articles  like  those  to  which  she  set  her  hand.  The 
hope  of  Western  settlers  for  prosperity  and  protection 
was  in  a federal  state,  not  in  a confederacy  of  sover- 
eigns ; the  administration  of  that  vast  and  splendid  ter- 
ritory was  as  inexorable  as  fate  in  its  requirement  of  a 
strong,  indissoluble  union. 

As  the  war  went  on  Congress,  from  the  lack  of  real 
vitality,  became  moi’e  and  more  decrepit  and  inefficient, 
inefficiency  of  Its  members  were  constantly  absent,  prefer- 
Congress.  rjng  the  active  political  life  of  the  separate 
States  to  the  torpor  of  a discussion  and  legislation  with 
no  real  power  behind  it.  As  foreign  aid  became  more 
abundant  and  more  certain,  the  entire  nation  at  different 
times  and  at  different  places  displayed  an  apathy  in  the 
performance  of  its  duties  which  strangely  contrasted 
with  the  magnitude  of  the  struggle  in  which  it  had  en- 
gaged. This  was  mirrored  in  Congress,  which  at  last 
was  but  a mere  tool  of  the  States  to  borrow  money  and 
issue  a paper  currency,  the  shadow  of  a union  whose 
reality  was  temporarily  in  Washington  and  the  army. 
Its  sessions  were  too  often  the  scene  of  dispute  be- 
tween cliques  representing  the  jealousies  which  arose 
from  the  ambition  or  spite  of  generals  in  the  field. 
Gates,  Charles  Lee,  and  Conway  found  their  adherents 
and  fellow-schemers  among  its  members.  At  times  it 
lost  all  dignity,  and  in  the  absence  of  the  general  confi- 
dence and  esteem  of  the  country  the  only  one  who  still 
spoke  of  it  with  respect  was  Washington,  of  all  men  the 
most  sorely  tried  by  its  hostility  and  inefficiency.  The 
pretenders  and  soldiers  of  fortune  who  plotted  his  over- 
throw seemed  always  to  find  sympathy  in  a body  which 
notoriously  failed  in  the  continuous  and  hearty  support 
of  his  authority,  and  in  providing  the  supplies  essential 
to  the  conduct  of  the  war. 

There  was  real  greatness  and  true  courage  in  the 


INDEPENDENCE  AND  CONFEDERATION  237 


American  people  and  their  leaders  throughout  the  years 
and  events  antecedent  to  the  Revolutionary  War,  and 
again  in  the  days  of  constitutional  recon-  Fickleness 
struetion  subsequent  to  it.  Throughout  the  of the  masses, 
existence  of  the  confederation,  however,  there  was  a dis- 
play of  littleness  and  meanness,  of  weakness  and  hesi- 
tancy, which  narrows  the  number  of  great  names  for 
the  period  of  hostilities  to  comparatively  few.  Such  as 
there  were,  however,  wrere  truly  great.  Their  owners 
tower  superior  to  wrangling  and  ambition.  Devoted  to 
a principle  and  a cause  they  were  unmoved  by  failure, 
by  the  fickleness  of  the  mob,  which  often  showed  a short 
and  dangerous  zeal  only  to  fall  off  like  an  autumn  leaf,  or 
by  the  too  frequent  selfishness  of  the  mercantile  classes. 
Without  such  loyal  and  true  supporters  even  the  supe- 
rior greatness  of  Washington  would  have  had  no  theatre 
on  which  to  display  itself  ; the  great  revolution  in  politi- 
cal principle  accomplished  by  the  fortitude  and  acumen 
of  the  last  ten  years,  and  culminating  in  the  declaration 
of  independence,  would  have  been  a dismal  failure. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


THE  LOSS  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY— APR1L-DECEMBER,  1776 

Three  Divisions  of  the  War — Importance  of  New  York  City — Arri- 
val of  Washington — The  System  of  Defence— The  Opposing 
Forces — The  Battle  of  Long  Island — Inefficiency  of  the  Ameri- 
can Militia— Evacuation  of  New  York — Encampment  on  the 
Bronx  River — The  Battle  of  White  Plains — Capture  of  Fort 
Washington  by  the  British — The  American  Army  in  New  Jer- 
sey— Retreat  of  Greene — Need  of  a Regular  Army — Treachery 
of  Charles  Lee — Congress  Authorizes  Long  Enlistments — Wash- 
ington’s Retreat  across  New  Jersey — His  Army  Reinforced — 
His  Successful  Strategy — Lee  Captured  by  the  British — His 
True  Character. 

The  English  had  been  foiled  both  at  Boston  and 
Charleston,  but  neither  place  was  of  the  highest  strategic 
importance  in  a war  carried  on  according 
ions  of  the  to  the  science  as  it  was  then  understood. 

The  brothers  Howe,  both  the  admiral  and  the 
general,  were  men  of  clearer  understanding  than  the  in- 
capables  to  whom  active  operations  in  America  had  so 
far  been  intrusted  by  the  English  administration.  After 
the  opening  scenes  in  the  South  and  around  Boston,  the 
story  of  hostilities  falls  into  three  divisions— the  conflict 
for  possession  of  the  Hudson,  the  campaigns  on  the  Dela- 
ware, and  the  effort  to  regain  the  South. 

In  addition  to  the  control  of  the  interior,  which  the 
possession  of  the  city  of  New  York  assured,  the  place 
had  now  become  the  largest  storehouse  of  military 
supplies  within  American  limits.  It  was  the  com- 


THE  LOSS  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY 


239 


mercial  centre  of  the  country,  although  not  yet  as 
populous  as  Philadelphia,  and  many  of  its  wealthy  in- 
habitants remained  loyal  from  both  interest 
and  conviction.  It  was  therefore  self-evi-  of^e^York 
dent  that  after  the  evacuation  of  Boston  an  tlt)- 
attempt  to  seize  the  town  would  be  made  by  the  English. 

The  only  place  about  the  harbor  available  for  a landing 
was  Staten  Island.  American  fortifications  of  more  or 
less  strength  had  been  erected  on  the  other  Arrival  of 
shores,  but  Washington’s  numbers  were  too  Washington, 
few  to  complete  the  investment.  He  had  left  three  thou- 
sand men  in  Boston  under  Ward,  and  sent  eight  regi- 
ments under  Thomas  to  Canada.  It  was  therefore  with 
a weakened  and  scanty  force  that  he  reached  New  York 
in  April.  Tryon  was  on  an  English  ship  in  the  harbor 
giving  comfort  and  encouragement  to  the  Tories,  and 
fomenting  plots  of  a most  dastardly  character  against 
the  persons  and  property  of  patriots.  One  of  these  was 
for  the  seizure  of  Washington  himself.  The  plotters  were 
sometimes  discovered,  and,  when  they  were,  such  was 
the  exasperation  of  the  New  York  patriots  that  they  did 
not  hesitate  to  cruelly  maltreat  them,  a coat  of  tar  and 
feathers  being  among  the  lightest  penalties. 

Lee  had  already  planned  and  partially  constructed  a 
system  of  fortifications.  Washington  hastened  the  com- 
pletion of  the  unfinished  ones,  and  under  the  The  PTStem  of 
supervision  of  Greene  and  Putnam  materially  defence, 
strengthened  the  fort  on  Brooklyn  Heights.  Additional 
earthworks  were  thrown  up  at  Red  Hook,  Paulus  Hook, 
and  on  the  hills  at  Kingsbridge.  On  the  north  end  of 
the  island  Fort  Washington  commanded  the  left  bank 
of  the  Hudson  ; Fort  Lee,  opposite,  in  New  Jersey,  the 
right ; and  Fort  George  guarded  the  south  end  of  the 
city.  As  a garrison  there  was  an  available  force  of  be- 
tween ten  and  eleven  thousand  men  ; nearly  seven  thou- 


240  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


sand  being  detached  on  furlough  or  sick.  They  had 
been  hastily  gathered  in  by  order  of  Congress  from 
Maryland,  Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey,  from 
New  York  itself,  and  from  New  England.  Composed  in 
part  of  militiamen,  in  part  of  regulars,  this  difference 
was  further  augmented  by  local  prejudice  and  social  pe- 
culiarities, which  entirely  destroyed  any  cohesion  and 
made  discipline  impossible. 

During  the  first  fortnight  in  Augmst  there  were  landed 
from  successive  detachments  of  the  English  fleet  forces 
The  opposing  which  made  the  army  nearly  thirty-two  thou- 

forces.  sand  strong  ; about  twenty-five  thousand  were 
effective,  among  them  eight  thousand  and  six  hundred 
mercenaries.  During  the  months  just  passed,  indepen- 
dence had  been  declared  at  Philadelphia,  Congress  had 
declined  North’s  perfunctory  offers  of  conciliation,  and 
arrangements  for  the  interchange  of  prisoners  of  war 
had  been  concluded.  The  loyalists  of  Long  Island  were 
enrolled  under  the  command  of  Tryon.  Hostile  move- 
ments at  length  began  on  August  22d,  when  fifteen 
thousand  British  troops  were  sent  over  near  the  Narrows 
to  the  eastern  shore  ; on  the  twenty-fifth  five  thousand 
Hessians  followed.  There  were  eight  thousand  Conti- 
nentals, under  the  immediate  command  of  Greene  and 
Putnam,  to  oppose  them  ; the  most  notable  corps  of  the 
American  army  was  an  artillery  company,  under  com- 
mand of  Alexander  Hamilton. 

The  attack  was  made  on  the  twenty-seventh,  and  the 
consequence  was  further  disorganization.  Greene  was 
ill,  the  advance  forces  under  Putnam  were 
of  Long  Isi-  overwhelmed  and  thrown  back  into  Brooklyn 
with  the  loss  of  more  than  a thousand  pris- 
oners, among  whom  were  two  generals.  The  English, 
over-estimating  the  force  opposed  to  them,  came  to  a 
halt  before  the  Brooklyn  fort.  Two  days  intervened. 


THE  LOSS  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY 


241 


The  precious  moments  of  delay  gave  Washington  an  op- 
portunity to  reconnoitre.  Their  strei  :gth  was  overpow- 
ering, and  he  decided  for  retreat.  By  a movement  as 
masterly  as  any  through  which  his  victories  'were  won, 
he  drew  oft'  the  remnants  of  his  raw,  undisciplined  army, 
crossing  the  East  River  in  fog  and  rain  with  all  his 
stores.  On  the  thirtieth  the  main  body  of  his  force 
was  safely  encamped  on  Manhattan  Island  and  guards 
set  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy. 

But  the  situation  was  disheartening.  The  English 
would  not  bombard  the  city  of  New  York,  for  they  in- 
tended to  spare  the  property  of  Tories  and 

, j i P n . . . Inefficiency 

capture  the  place  lor  their  own  occupation,  of  the  Amen- 

Washington  momentarily  took  into  consider-  CJn  militia' 
ation  the  destruction  of  the  town  as  a military  necessity, 
but  Congress  took  the  opposite  view  ; the  general  had  no 
confidence,  however,  in  his  militia  and  without  them  the 
place  could  not  be  held.  A distressing  incident  which 
soon  occurred  justified  the  distrust.  The  English  fleet 
was  sent  to  threaten  the  front  and  western  shore  of  the 
city,  while  a body  of  troops  was  landed  from  Astoria  in 
Kip’s  Bay  on  the  eastern  shore.  The  militia  fled  before 
them  in  disgraceful  confusion  across  the  fields  to  Murray 
Hill.  Two  New  England  brigades  were  hastily  de- 
spatched to  arrest  the  flight,  but  they  were  no  braver 
than  the  others  and  joined  in  the  panic.  Washington 
stood  in  the  way  with  loaded  pistols,  but  the  hurrying 
men  paid  no  heed  to  his  commands  or  menaces.  He  is 
said  to  have  discharged  his  side-arms  over  the  vanishing 
soldiery,  and  to  have  flung  his  hat  in  angry  despair  on 
the  ground  as  he  exclaimed  : “And  are  these  the  men 
with  whom  I have  to  defend  America  ? ” 

The  success  of  the  English  drove  the  army  momentarily 
to  entrench  itself  on  Harlem  Heights  near  Fort  Washing- 
ton ; the  commander’s  head-quarters  were  at  Morrisania, 
16 


242  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

on  the  mainland.  The  inevitable  retreat  from  the  city 
occurred  on  September  12th,  and  was  conducted  by  Put- 
Evacuation  of  nam  with  spirit  and  success ; but  the  evacua- 
New  York,  tion  was  so  hasty  that  all  the  heavy  artillery 
and  stores  had  to  be  left  behind,  an  irreparable  loss  to  the 
Americans.  A curious  tradition  relates  that  Howe’s  pur- 
suit was  hot  and  close  until  he  reached  the  mansion  of 
Mrs.  Murray,  mother  of  the  once  famous  grammarian, 
which  was  noted  for  its  hospitality  and  a cellar  of  old 
Madeira.  The  English  general  paused  a moment  for  re- 
freshment, and  the  patriotic  mistress  plied  him  so  suc- 
cessfully with  the  precious  liquor  that  some  hours  were 
gained  for  Putnam  and  his  retreating  soldiers.  The 
English  entered  and  occupied  the  city  at  once.  Soon 
after,  a fire  destroyed  old  Trinity  Church  and  the  quarter 
in  which  it  stood.  The  origin  of  the  conflagration  could 
never  be  determined,  but  the  British  falsely  charged  the 
Sons  of  Liberty  with  incendiarism  and  flung  some  of  them 
into  the  flames. 

In  the  meantime,  September  11th,  a conference  had 
been  held  on  Staten  Island  between  Howe  on  one  side 
and  a committee  of  Congress,  consisting  of  Franklin, 
John  Adams,  and  Rutledge  on  the  other,  to  consider  the 
English  offer  of  peace  forwarded  a second  time  to  Phila- 
delphia and  by  the  hand  of  Sullivan,  who  had  been  capt- 
ured by  the  British  on  Long  Island.  As  the  Americans 
insisted  on  the  acknowledgment  of  their  independence 
the  result  was  nothing.  Soon  after,  Nathan  Hale,  a gen- 
tleman by  birth  and  a graduate  of  Yale  College,  entered 
the  English  lines  as  a spy.  He  was  captured,  brutally 
treated,  and  hung  the  day  following,  on  September  22d. 
Both  these  incidents,  especially  the  latter,  embittered  the 
popular  feeling  against  the  English. 

The  American  fortifications  at  Harlem  were  too  strong 
to  be  stormed,  and  on  October  12th  Howe  sought  to  re- 


THE  LOSS  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY 


248 


peat  the  manoeuvre  which  had  been  so  successful,  send- 
ing a body  of  troops  by  boats  up  the  East  River  to  out- 
flank them.  Washington  and  his  generals  Encamp. 

determined,  therefore,  to  move  across  the  “eDt  the 
. . Bronx  River. 

Harlem  onto  the  mainland,  leaving  lor  the 

control  of  the  Hudson  a strong  garrison  in  Fort  Wash- 
ington, which  Greene  considered  impregnable.  This  was 
done,  although  with  great  hesitancy  on  the  part  of  the 
commander-in-chief,  and  a fortifled  camp  was  established, 
extending  thirteen  miles  along  the  Bronx  River  to  the 
village  of  White  Plains,  which  commanded  the  land 
routes  into  the  interior. 

Near  this  place  the  two  armies  met  again  on  October 
28th  ; their  numbers  were  about  equal,  thirteen  thousand 
more  or  less  on  each  side.  The  Americans  The  battle  of 
stood  on  the  defensive,  and  on  the  twenty-  White  Plams- 
ninth  the  English  attacked.  The  first  engagement  was 
sharp  but  indecisive  until  Rail,  with  two  German  regi- 
ments, turned  it  to  the  British  advantage.  The  lat- 
ter, however,  lost  two  hundred  and  thirty-one  killed, 
wounded,  and  prisoners,  the  former  one  hundred  and 
sixty.  A severe  thunder-storm  supervened,  and  this, 
combined  with  the  frowning  appearance  of  the  Ameri- 
can breastworks,  which  were  thrown  up  with  the  butts 
of  corn-stalks,  a material  unknown  to  the  enemy,  dis- 
couraged them  in  a repetition  of  their  charge,  and 
they  waited  two  days  for  reinforcements.  On  Novem- 
ber 1st  Washington  retreated  in  good  order,  proceeding 
to  New  Castle  which  he  enti’enched,  while  Howe,  by  a 
sudden  movement  incomprehensible  to  his  opponent, 
turned  westward  toward  the  river  at  Dobb’s  Ferry  and 
then  moved  south. 

The  American  council  of  war  was  altogether  misled, 
being  convinced  that  the  invaders  were  to  cross  the  river 
and  then  march  northward.  Accordingly,  a body  of 


244  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


troopers  was  sent  over  the  river  to  reconnoitre,  and  four 
thousand  men  were  stationed  at  Peekskill  to  guard  the 
Highlands,  so  as  to  prevent,  if  possible,  the 
junction  of  Howe’s  army  with  that  of  Carle- 
ton  from  the  north.  What  was  left  of  the 
main  army  followed  to  the  west  shore  and  turned  south 
into  New  Jersey.  The  truth  was  that  a traitor  in  Fort 
Washington  had  made  plans  of  the  fortress  and  its  out- 
works, and  fled  with  them  to  the  enemy.  Their  present 
movement  was  directed  against  that  post,  which  had  been 
garrisoned  with  great  loss  of  effective  fighting  troops 
to  the  American  army,  and  against  Washington’s  better 
judgment.  It  was  assaulted  on  November  16th,  from 
three  different  directions  ; the  outlying  forts  were  capt- 
ured, the  entire  body  of  defenders  driven  into  the  narrow 
compass  of  the  place  itself,  and  no  alternative  left  for 
them  except  surrender.  The  British  lost  three  hundred 
and  fifty  Germans  and  five  hundred  English,  killed  and 
wounded  in  the  storm.  The  American  loss  was  twenty- 
seven  hundred  taken  prisoners,  a hundred  and  fifty  killed 
and  wounded,  forty-three  pieces  of  artillery,  with  small 
arms  and  stores.  By  this  disaster  Fort  Lee  was  also 
rendered  useless,  as  alone  it  could  not  command  the 
wide  river.  It  was  therefore  evacuated  and  in  part  dis- 
mantled. 

Greene  was  left  near  by  to  guard  the  rear,  as  Washing- 
ton turned  toward  the  Delaware.  Able,  generous,  and 
The  \meri-  ^rave  as  the  lieutenant  was,  his  judgment  had 
can  army  in  very  recently  been  proven  altogether  incom- 
mensurate with  that  of  the  commander-in- 
chief,  and  he  had  now  another  bitter  lesson  to  learn  be- 
fore he  ripened  into  the  maturity  which  afterward 
characterized  him.  Every  action  in  this  campaign  had 
thus  far  been  disastrous  to  Washington,  and  yet  his  op- 
ponent had  been  outgeneralled  at  every  step.  The  river 


Capture  of 
Fort  Wash- 
ington by  the 
British. 


THE  LOSS  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY 


245 


was  not  won,  the  struggle  for  its  possession  had  been 
merely  transferred  to  its  upper  waters,  and  the  High- 
lands had  been  rendered  substantially  impregnable.  The 
winter  was  near,  and  Howe’s  last  move  for  the  season 
was  to  cross  into  New  Jersey  with  his  Anglo-German 
army. 

His  objective  point  was  Fort  Lee,  which  he  meant  to 
fortify  before  withdrawing  to  the  comforts  and  pleasures 
of  New  York  for  the  inclement  season  and  Eetreat  of 
leaving  to  Cornwallis  the  task  of  securing  the  Greene. 
Delaware  River.  Accordingly,  a reinforcement  of  five 
thousand  men  moved  up  the  east  side  of  the  Hudson  and 
crossed,  with  their  artillery,  about  five  miles  north  of  the 
fort  where  Greene  was  stationed  on  the  precipitous  rock- 
walls  known  as  the  Palisades.  Never  dreaming  that  the 
English  would  really  come  that  way  and  drag  their  can- 
non by  main  force  up  trails  almost  perpendicular,  he  was 
taken  completely  by  surprise,  and  fled  with  his  force  of 
two  thousand  men,  leaving  cannon  and  tents  behind. 
Fortunately  he  had  presence  of  mind  to  send  an  ex- 
press to  Washington,  who  was  thus  enabled  by  a forced 
march  to  secure  the  bridge  across  the  Hackensack  River, 
to  which  the  English  were  hastening,  and  thus  cover 
Greene's  retreat. 

This  accumulation  of  successive  disasters  was  produc- 
ing in  many  honest  but  dull  people  a most  painful  im- 
pression concerning  the  commander-in-chief.  Need  of  a reg. 
The  troops  were  utterly  disheartened,  and  u!ar  arm5’- 
as  their  short  terms  expired  they  daily  left  the  camp  in 
considerable  numbers.  Congress  had  culpably  neglected 
to  authorize  long  enlistment,  that  is,  for  three  years  or 
the  war,  as  Washington  repeatedly  urged  ; the  militia 
had  iu  the  crisis  shown  little  endurance  or  courage,  and 
the  army  was  finally  so  decimated  as  to  make  the  retreat 
across  New  Jersey  appear  like  a flight  of  stragglers. 


246  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  TIIE  REVOLUTION 


In  this  desperate  plight  Lee  began  to  display  his  true 
character.  Immediately  after  the  march  began  orders 
Treachery  were  sen^  *or  him  to  close  in  and  join  the 
LeeCharles  maan  c°lumn  with  his  division.  But  he  pro- 
crastinated and  loitered  aimlessly  behind,  ap- 
parently seeking  a chance  for  some  personal  exploit 
whereby  to  distinguish  himself  and  create  a glaring  con- 
trast to  the  humiliation  of  his  captain.  A second  time 
he  was  summoned,  but  with  the  same  result,  and  Wash- 
ington vainly  waited  five  days  at  Newark  before  start- 
ing across  the  State  for  New  Brunswick,  Princeton,  and 
Trenton,  the  line  he  had  chosen  for  retreat.  Lee’s  rep- 
utation had  really  reached  alarming  proportions  ; men 
remembered  his  long  experience  in  Europe,  they  appre- 
ciated the  excellence  of  his  plan  for  defending  New 
York,  his  success  at  Charleston  had  not  been  dimin- 
ished as  the  news  of  it  travelled  on,  and  there  was  en- 
thusiasm for  him  in  ah  the  country  round  about.  His 
self-sufficiency  grew  with  each  succeeding  day,  he  re- 
fused obedience  for  weeks,  and  no  doubt  dreamed  ei- 
ther of  an  independent  command  or  of  the  foremost 
place,  should  the  general  - in  - chief  meet  with  another 
reverse. 

Congress  had  at  last  roused  itself  to  action.  On  the 
morrow  of  the  reverses  in  New  York,  when  it  was  just 
Congress  too  late,  they  authorized  long  enlistments, 
long1  eniYVt3  anc^  forwarded  blank  commissions  to  the 
ments.  head -quarters  of  the  army.  In  December, 

three  weeks  later,  when  dismay  and  panic  had  over- 
whelmed the  majority  of  the  patriots,  when  Philadel- 
phia seemed  lost,  and  they  were  on  the  eve  them- 
selves of  adjourning  to  Baltimore,  they  went  further 
in  the  display  of  a supreme  confidence  in  Washington, 
and  temporarily  invested  him  with  the  powers  of  a dic- 
tator. 


THE  LOSS  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY 


247 


In  the  interval  the  discredited  and  flying,  but  orderly, 
remnant  of  the  troops  reached  New  Brunswick  on  No- 
vember 28th.  They  were  marching  through  an  unsym- 
pathetic country.  After  the  close  of  the  Staten  Island 
conference  Howe  had  issued  a proclamation  wash  in  s- 

of  amnesty,  declaring  that  his  Government  *°“ggB 
was  willing  to  repeal  the  whole  series  of  Jersey- 
odious  acts  ; he  now  renewed  it.  Many  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, unnerved  by  disaster,  and  feeling  that  resistance 
was  hopeless,  accepted  his  offers,  even  the  officers  of  the 
State  began  to  throw  up  their  commissions  and  seek 
pardon.  And  in  the  very  goal  towai’d  which  the  army 
was  striving,  there  reigned  an  utter  hopelessness.  Penn- 
sylvania had  as  yet  no  constitution,  and  her  committee 
of  safety  was  paralyzed.  On  November  80th  the  New 
Jersey  and  Maryland  troops  left  for  their  homes,  and 
the  American  effective  force  was  reduced  one-half.  Lee 
still  refused  obedience. 

There  was  here  and  there  a ray  of  light  in  this  dark- 
ness. In  response  to  messages  from  Washington  the 
New  Jersey  legislature  began  to  take  effi-  His  army  re- 
cient  measures,  and  Congress  issued  stirring  mforced‘ 
appeals  to  the  citizens  in  and  near  Philadelphia,  which 
awakened  a private  enterprise  nobly  contrasted  with  the 
semi-official  inefficiency.  Schuyler  sent  seven  Continen- 
tal regiments  from  the  north  which  had  yet  a month  to 
serve,  and  Washington  left  New  Brunswick  with  a body 
of  three  thousand  soldiers,  just  as  Cornwallis  was  ar- 
riving from  the  north  with  a force  of  veteran  troops 
twice  as  strong.  Princeton  was  reached  on  the  night  of 
December  1st.  Twelve  hundred  Continentals,  under 
Stirling,  were  left  there  to  check  the  enemy’s  advance,  if 
possible,  and  Washington,  with  the  remaining  eighteen 
hundred,  and  his  stores,  pushed  on  to  Trenton.  After  a 
week  of  uncertain  repose  for  the  weary  men,  broken  at 


248  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


last  by  Cornwallis’s  advance  from  New  Brunswick,  the 
rear-guard  followed.  Their  general,  whose  claim  to  a 
Scotch  peerage  gave  him  the  courtesy  title  of  Lord  Stir- 
ling, by  which  he  was  always  known  in  America,  was  of 
the  Alexander  family,  and  as  enjoying  the  public  confi- 
dence had  been  chosen  long  before — in  1775 — by  the  New 
Jersey  provincial  congress  to  command  one  of  the  two 
battalions  they  had  raised  ; but  even  he,  on  his  own  soil, 
was  compelled  to  withdraw  before  Cornwallis’s  successful 
veterans,  who  entered  the  university  town  on  December 
7th,  turning  the  handsome  buildings  into  barracks  and 
the  stately  old  church  into  a storehouse  and  stable. 

The  American  baggage  and  stores  had,  however,  been 
safely  transferred  to  the  right  bank  of  the  Delaware,  and 
His  success-  Washington,  after  urging  Congress  to  begin 
fui  strategy.  j^s  preparations  for  the  campaign  of  the  fol- 
lowing summer,  turned  back  to  rejoin  Stirling.  But  he 
met  his  subordinate  half-way,  to  learn  that  Howe  had 
come  out  for  his  share  of  the  expected  laurels,  and  that 
no  less  than  four  thousand  regulars  wTere  in  pursuit, 
though  a large  force  had  been  left  in  occupation  of 
Princeton.  The  Americans,  therefore,  turned,  crossed 
the  Delaware,  and  proceeded  to  secure  all  the  boats  on 
the  waters  around  for  many  miles,  seventy,  it  is  said. 
Howe  had  again  lingered  too  long,  this  time  a whole  day, 
and  reached  Trenton  just  in  time  to  see  the  last  of  his 
foes  crossing  the  swollen  wintry  flood  in  safety.  This  re- 
treat of  ninety  miles,  in  the  depth  of  winter,  leaving  be- 
hind a country  with  bridges  destroyed,  and  roads  ren- 
dered so  far  impassable  as  to  protract  the  enemy’s  march 
for  eighteen  days,  during  which  such  measures  as  could 
be  were  taken  to  avert  threatened  disaster  and  ruin,  is 
second  to  no  other  of  Washington’s  masterpieces  as  a 
general.  Moreover,  at  the  end,  weak  as  his  little  army 
was,  he  occupied  a position  of  great  strength  behind 


THE  LOSS  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY 


249 


an  unfordable  river,  with  control  of  all  the  boats  on  its 
waters. 

These  weeks  saw  the  turn  of  Lee’s  fortunes.  In  con- 
sequence of  the  peremptory  commands  which  finally  im- 
pelled him  to  a partial  activity,  he  reluctantly 
crossed  the  Hudson.  But  instead  of  follow-  ured  %•  catiie 
ing  his  commander  he  began  to  scheme  with  Bntl=h' 
Gates,  the  adjutant-general,  like  himself  a former  Eng- 
lish officer,  for  the  independent  command  not  only  of  his 
own  division,  but  of  all  the  American  forces  as  far  as  the 
Highlands,  that  he  might,  if  possible,  secure  to  himself 
the  glory  of  reconquering  the  Jerseys.  Messengers  were 
constantly  coming  and  going  with  his  secret  correspond- 
ence. At  last,  on  December  12tli,  he  led  his  soldiers  a 
few  miles  nearer  the  enemy,  and  himself  pushed  onward 
unattended  to  Baskingridge,  expecting  the  arrival  at  that 
place  of  an  agent  from  Gates.  It  was  an  inglorious  fall 
which  awaited  him.  He  was  surprised  by  a body  of  Eng- 
lish riders  when  alone  in  a farm-house  writing  treacher- 
ous letter’s,  and  carried  captive  to  New  York,  where  he 
was  ignominiously  imprisoned,  and  held  for  trial  as  a de- 
serter from  the  English  army. 

His  supposed  importance  gave  great  weight  for  a time 
to  this  capture,  the  patriots  at  large  being  still  ignorant 
of  his  character  and  conduct.  During  his  His  true  char- 
captivity  he  repeatedly  declared  that  he  was  acter- 
opposed  to  independence,  and  gave  his  captors  all  the 
information  he  possessed  which  might  be  of  value.  On 
December  8th,  Howe  had  unwisely  sent  into  Rhode  Isl- 
and a small  expedition  to  occupy  the  important  harbor 
of  Newport.  By  an  exploit  of  the  Americans  in  July  fol- 
lowing, which  was  strangely  analogous  to  that  of  Lee’s 
capture,  Prescott,  the  English  general,  was  taken  prisoner 
in  his  head-quarters,  and  the  British  were  reluctantly 
compelled  to  an  exchange  of  these  officers  of  equal  rank. 


250  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

So  strong  were  the  suspicions  of  treachery  that  Lee’s 
career  for  the  remainder  of  the  war  was  overcast.  He 
wTas  for  a time  restored  to  command,  but  his  disgraceful 
conduct  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth  revealed  his  true 
character. 


CHAPTER  XXL 


TRENTON  AND  PRINCETON— DECEMBER,  1776 

Congress  Leaves  Philadelphia — The  Winter  Quarters  of  the  English 
on  the  Delaware — Washington's  Plan  for  a Surprise — The  Bat- 
tle of  Trenton — Courage  and  Activity  Revived — Preparations 
to  Assume  the  Offensive — The  English  March  to  Trenton — 
Camp  on  the  Assanpink — Washington’s  Flank  Movement — 
Battle  of  Princeton — The  Americans  at  Morristown — The  Del- 
aware and  Hudson  Safe— Plans  for  Reorganizing  the  Army — 
Thwarted  by  Localism — Timidity  of  the  States — American  Suc- 
cess Justified  the  American  Revolt. 

There  were  delegates  in  Congress  as  undaunted  as 
Washington  himself.  Samuel  Adams  and  a few  others, 
supported  Toy  good  news  of  help  from  Eu- 
rope, even  opposed  the  proposed  migration  leaves  Phiia- 
to  Baltimore.  Putnam  was  in  command  at  delpllij- 
Philadelphia,  and  compelled  the  co-operation  in  defen- 
sive measures  of  all  except  the  Quakers,  who  refused 
“ in  person  or  bj  other  assistance  to  join  in  carrying  on 
the  war,”  and  were  excused  for  their  conscientious  scru- 
ples. But  the  friends  of  the  cause  were,  nevertheless, 
hard  pressed  to  find  good  grounds  for  their  determina- 
tion to  stand,  and  the  now  famous  but  then  somewhat 
threadbare  epithet  of  Fabius  Cunctator,  which  they  ap- 
plied to  sustain  the  waning  reputation  of  Washington, 
was  too  often  used  in  irony  by  his  enemies.  According- 
ly the  Government  abandoned  Philadelphia. 

When  Congress  dispersed  the  outlook  was  certainly 
desperate  ; Canada  lost,  Xew  York,  as  far  as  the  High- 


252  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


lands,  New  Jersey,  and  Long  Island — which  held  Connec- 
ticut in  check— all  in  undisputed  British  possession  ; the 
The  winter  lighting  regulars  under  Washington  would, 
theEnghehon  ou  New-year’s  -day,  be  reduced  in  number 
the  Delaware.  fifteen  hundred,  even  when  strengthened 
by  the  reinforcement  under  Gates  and  the  division  of 
Lee,  now  commanded  by  Sullivan.  The  English  were 
ranging  at  will  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Delaware,  coming 
often  within  a few  miles  of  Philadelphia.  They  were, 
moreover,  in  full  possession  of  the  facts,  and  feeling  their 
best  policy  to  be  delay,  made  ready  for  the  winter  in 
comfortable  quarters  at  New  Brunswick,  Princeton, 
Trenton,  and  Bordentown.  Howe  returned  to  New  York. 
Cornwallis  was  to  sail  for  England.  Grant  commanded 
the  British  at  New  Brunswick,  the  Hessians  at  Trenton 
were  under  Ball,  those  at  Bordentown  under  Count  Do- 
nop.  These  Germans  had  been  assured  they  would  find 
their  fortune  in  America,  and  they  left  no  chance  for 
gain  untried  in  the  plunder  of  the  inhabitants,  while 
they  gratified  their  passions  in  scandalous  license.  Their 
name  was  for  years  a synonymn  for  brutality.  Never- 
theless the  natives,  believing  the  war  a failure,  sur- 
rounded the  American  camp  as  spies,  and  sullenly  refused 
to  commit  themselves  to  a lost  cause.  Washington’s 
lines  stretched  along  the  right  bank  of  the  Delaware 
from  Coryell’s  Ferry  to  Bristol,  and  were  commanded 
at  various  points  by  Stirling,  Mercei*,  Stephen,  Fermoy, 
Ewing,  and  Cadwalader. 

The  river  was  swollen  and  full  of  running  ice.  Ac- 
cording to  the  reports  of  English  spies  Washington’s  men 
had  neither  shoes,  stockings,  nor  blankets, 
ton’s ^an  for  and  were  dying  of  cold  and  starvation.  Grant 
a suipr.se.  informed  Donop  that  the  American  general 

knew  how  weak  both  Princeton  and  Trenton  were,  adding 
that  he  must  be  on  his  guard  against  an  attack,  although 


TRENTON  AND  PRINCETON 


253 


it  was  improbable  that  one  would  be  attempted.  The 
division  generals  on  both  sides  thought  such  a plan 
impracticable  ; Rail  and  Donop  virtually  dismissed  the 
thought  from  their  minds.  Gates  declared  that  the 
British  would  build  boats,  make  a flank  movement  on 
the  American  right,  and  take  Philadelphia.  Under  this 
pretext  he  set  out  nominally  to  assist  Putnam  in  his  de- 
fence of  that  town.  In  reality  he  passed  on  to  intrigue 
in  Congress  at  Baltimore.  It  was  therefore  on  his  own 
responsibility  that  Washington  fixed  a date  for  the  en- 
terprise considered  by  others  so  desperate,  but  which  he 
determined  to  try.  It  had  to  be  conducted  also  by  his 
own  enfeebled  men,  for  Putnam  would  not  weaken  his 
garrison. 

On  the  afternoon  of  Christmas-day  the  available  force, 
two  thousand  four  hundred  in  number,  set  out  for  Mac- 
konkey’s  Perry,  nine  miles  up  the  river  from  The  battle  of 
Trenton,  where  the  boats  were  all  in  readi-  Trenton, 
ness.  At  twilight  the  boats  were  manned,  chiefly  by 
sailors  from  Marblehead,  and  the  troops  began  to  em- 
bark. The  night  was  cold  and  clear,  with  bright  moon- 
light until  eleven  o’clock  when  snow  began  to  fall.  The 
sky  was  soon  overcast,  and  toward  the  end  the  dangerous 
crossing  was  made  more  horrid  by  utter  darkness.  As 
the  march  toward  Trenton  proceeded,  sleet  and  rain  be- 
gan to  fall  in  place  of  snow,  so  that  the  heavy  soil  of  the 
roads  was  turned  to  sticky  mud,  making  the  advance 
difficult  and  adding  further  danger  to  the  adventure. 
The  Hessians  had  once  been  alarmed  during  the  night, 
but  when  the  city  was  reached  and  the  attack  commenced 
they  were  in  the  heavy  sleep  of  the  early  morning.  The 
general  and  his  men  were  taken  unawares,  and  roused 
themselves  with  difficulty  from  the  effects  of  a holiday 
merriment  which  was  probably  far  from  innocent.  The 
action  wTas  short  and  decisive.  So  quickly  was  the  town 


254  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


invested  that  only  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  of  the 
garrison  escaped.  Of  the  rest,  seventeen  were  killed 
and  nine  hundred  and  forty-six  were  made  prisoners, 
of  whom  seventy-eight  were  wounded.  Among  the  capt- 
ured stores  were  twelve  hundred  small  arms  and  six 
field-pieces.  There  were  two  Americans  killed,  four 
wounded,  and — awful  witness  to  the  severity  of  the  night 
— two  frozen  to  death. 

Thus  in  a few  days  the  whole  aspect  of  affairs  was 
changed.  The  flying,  disheartened  Continentals  were 
now  transformed  into  an  enthusiastic,  well- 
activity  re-  appointed,  and  offensive  force.  Good  news 
spreads  rapidly;  the  scattered  and  waiting 
bands  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State  began  to  collect 
at  Hackensack  and  Morristown,  while  reinforcements 
came  up  from  Philadelphia.  Courage  was  restored,  and 
Congress  felt  that  if  there  were  still  a fighting  chance  in 
the  face  of  so  powerful  a foe  their  treaties  with  foreign 
powers  were  more  thau  paper,  and  their  promises  at 
home  could  be  kept.  The  autocratic  powers  hastily 
given  to  Washington  from  Philadelphia  were  defined  and 
renewed  for  six  months  from  Baltimore.  But  a dicta- 
torship without  men  or  money  was  a maimed  dignity. 
The  air  was  full  of  promises — ten  millions  to  be  borrowed 
in  France  at  six  per  cent.,  five  millions  more  of  Continen- 
tal paper  to  be  forced  on  the  people — but  in  the  mean- 
while there  was  a desperate  emergency  and  not  a penny 
wherewith  to  meet  it.  In  these  straits  the  commander 
actually  gave  a pledge  of  his  own  fortune,  and  others, 
among  them  John  Stark,  of  New  Hampshire,  followed 
the  heroic  example.  But  the  most  successful  ally  of 
Washington  in  this  extremity  was  Robert  Morris,  who 
first  collected  among  his  friends  five  hundred  dollars  in 
coin,  and  a few  days  later,  after  a house-to-house  in- 
quest, was  able  to  put  fifty  thousand  dollars  in  cash  at 


TRENTON  AND  PRINCETON 


255 


the  disposal  of  the  general-in-chief,  a sum  more  precious 
at  that  moment  than  ten  times  the  money  in  some  less 
urgent  hour. 

As  quickly  as  possible  the  English  and  Hessian  forces 
were  collected  at  Princeton,  until  seven — some  accounts 
say  eight — thousand  troops,  the  flower  of  the  Pre para- 
army,  were  there  assembled.  Cornwallis  in  some  the  of- 
dismay  hastened  from  New  York  to  take  fensive- 
command,  leaving  his  mails  aboard  the  ship  on  which 
he  had  taken  passage  for  London.  Cadwalader  crossed 
from  Bristol  and  occupied  Burlington  for  the  Ameri- 
cans. The  New  Jersey  legislature  convened  to  promote 
officers  and  encourage  enlistments,  and  the  Eastern  regi- 
ments, whose  terms  expired  on  December  31st,  were  in- 
duced to  remain  for  six  weeks  longer.  On  New-year’s- 
day,  therefore,  Washington  crossed  to  the  left  bank  of 
the  Delaware.  As  before,  he  had  dauntless  courage  and 
a well-matured  plan,  but  he  was  now  equipped  as  never 
before.  There  was  hope  in  all  hearts  ; two  thousand  of 
bis  men  who  had  seen  hard  fighting  and  privation  were 
in  a sense  veterans,  and  the  three  thousand  volunteers 
who  had  come  in  from  the  neighborhood  and  from  Phila- 
delphia, were  willing  and  strong.  Unfortunately  many 
of  his  soldiers  had  learned  the  Hessian  vices,  and  it 
required  stringent  restriction  to  prevent  the  pillage  of 
farms,  under  pretext  that  the  owners  were  Tories.  Such 
was  the  fickleness  of  the  populace  that,  after  the  turn  of 
affairs,  scarcely  a farmer  would  avow  any  sympathy  for 
the  invading  army,  and  many  gave  proof  by  actions  of 
the  sincere  patriotism  they  now  felt,  whether  it  had  been 
unbroken  or  intermittent. 

The  next  day  the  British  army,  with  the  exception  of 
two  regiments,  set  out  for  Trenton.  Their  advance 
was  checked  half-way  by  skirmishers  at  Maidenhead, 
now  Lawrenceville,  where  a brigade  was  left  on  guard, 


256  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  TIIE  REVOLUTION 


and  for  tlie  remaining  six  miles  they  could  march  but 
slowly  under  the  irregular  but  galling  fire  of  riflemen 
, and  light  artillery  concealed  behind  fences, 
march  to  trees,  or  other  ambush.  It  was  four  in  the 
afternoon  when  they  confronted  the  Am- 
erican rear -guard,  which  Washington  himself  com- 
manded. The  Assanpink  Creek  is  a considerable  trib- 
utary of  the  Delaware,  and  the  intervening  time  had 
camp  on  the  sufficed  to  throw  up  between  the  twTo  streams 
Assanpink.  anq  on  |.pe  })aup  0f  tlie  former  a fortified 
camp.  Into  this  the  Continentals  withdrew,  slowly  and 
in  good  order,  with  an  apparent  self-confidence  which 
seemed  to  inform  Cornwallis  that  they  merely  declined 
battle  now’  to  await  a later  and  more  favorable  instant ; 
this  impression  was  strengthened  by  unbroken  labor  in 
the  trenches,  as  if  the  morning  would  be  the  chosen 
hour.  The  Germans  and  English  accordingly  encamped 
for  the  night,  and  messengers  wTere  sent  to  call  in  the  two 
reserve  regiments  from  Princeton,  and  the  brigade  from 


Maidenhead. 

With  the  advancing  night  the  camp-fires  lighted  by 
both  sides  shone  clearer  in  the  thickening  gloom,  those 
w . of  the  Americans  burned  with  a brightness 
ton’s  blank  which  failed  to  arouse  suspicion.  By  mid- 

movement.  . . . ,,  » . • , A /-( 

night  there  was  perfect  quiet.  Among  Corn- 
wallis’s men  it  was  the  stillness  of  confident  repose,  in 
Washington’s  camp  all  were  w7akeful  and  alert.  The 
mild  weather  of  the  preceding  day  had  been  followed  by 
a sharp,  hard  frost,  which  changed  the  roads  from  mud 
to  stony  hummocks.  In  the  small  hours  a guard  was 
told  off  to  continue  the  ruse  by  keeping  the  watch-fires 
clear.  The  entire  remainder,  artillery  included,  set  si- 
lently forth  by  a roundabout  road  behind  the  Assanpink 
for  an  eighteen-mile  march  to  Princeton,  wrhich  they  saw 
in  the  early  morning  on  its  hill-top,  distant  about  a mile. 


TRENTON  AND  PRINCETON 


257 


The  two  English  Regiments  were  only  then  on  their 
way  by  the  main  road  or  king's  highway  to  Trenton. 
One  had  just  passed  the  bridge  over  Stony  Battle  of 
Brook  when  Mercer  with  a detachment  ad- 
vanced  to  reconnoitre.  The  English  waited  to  reunite 
and  then  charged,  driving  with  their  bayonets  the  weary 
Americans  up  onto  higher  ground,  the  vantage  being- 
useless  to  Mercer  because  his  men  had  not  that  weapon. 
On  either  side  were  two  field-pieces,  which  being  well 
handled  kept  up  a constant  fire.  The  cannonading  re- 
called Washington,  who  had  passed  on  to  the  south,  and 
also  informed  Cornwallis,  ten  miles  away,  of  the  success 
with  which  his  left  had  been  completely  turned.  He 
therefore  hastened  with  his  main  column  to  the  scene 
of  conflict,  but  long  before  his  arrival  the  reinforce- 
ments from  the  American  line  had  turned  the  tide  against 
the  fearless  but  scattered  foe.  Two  English  regiments 
reformed  in  the  town  itself,  but  were  dispersed  by  the 
fire  of  cannon  planted  and  served  by  the  townspeople. 
At  last  all  three  regiments  were  demoralized  and  ran, 
leaving  two  hundred  dead  and  two  hundred  and  thirty 
of  their  number  captive. 

Washington  in  this  affair  showed  a personal  courage 
and  carelessness  of  danger  never  afterward  forgotten — it 
was  simply  a miracle  that,  standing  as  he  did, 
not  thirty  yards  from  the  ranks  of  the  volley-  cans  at  Mor- 
ing  foe,  he  escaped  unhurt ; the  other  Ameri-  n't0"n- 
can  officers  emulated  his  example,  and  many  gallant  gen- 
tlemen, among  them  Hugh  Mercer,  remained  on  the 
field.  The  losses  from  the  ranks  were  slight.  Corn- 
wallis, with  his  habitual  dilatoriness,  reached  one  end  of 
the  village  street  as  his  triumphant  enemy  was  leaving 
the  other  to  destroy  the  English  stores  at  New  Bruns- 
wick. But  the  American  troops  wrere  too  battle-worn  for 
the  task,  and  accordingly  Washington  turned  northward 
17 


258  THE  FRENCH  AVAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


to  the  high  ground  near  Morristown,  where  he  estab- 
lished his  head-quarters.  The  English  saved  their  stores, 
and  seemed  happy  to  secure  even  New  Brunswick  as  an 
outpost.  Their  jubilant  foe  established  lines  from  Am- 
boy around  by  the  south  and  west  to  Morristown  : slight 
and  flimsy  as  it  was,  the  front  was  brave  enough  to  ac- 
complish the  end  in  view. 

The  affair  at  Princeton  changed  the  hope  awakened 
by  that  of  Trenton  into  fruition.  The  Jerseys  were  re- 
taken ; both  Hudson  and  Delaware  were  safe, 
ware  and  Hud-  The  total  result  of  the  first  campaign  by  a 
well-equipped  and  numerous  Anglo-German 
army  was  to  hold  Newport,  in  Rhode  Island,  and  the  city 
of  New  York,  with  outposts  at  Kingsbridge  on  the  north 
and  New  Brunswick  on  the  south.  Elsewhere  on  Ameri- 
can soil  there  was  not  an  armed  enemy.  New  England, 
the  Middle,  the  Southern  States  were  free  again.  The 
American  forces  were  animated  and  encouraged,  Wash- 
ington’s worth  was  at  last  fully  appreciated  by  the  troops, 
while  in  civil  life  distrust,  alas  ! gave  place  to  jealousy. 
On  January  5th  the  New  Jersey  militia  attacked  and  de- 
feated a force  of  Waldeckers  at  Springfield,  killed  nine 
and  took  thirty-nine  prisoners.  The  same  day  George 
Clinton  moved  over  the  Hudson  River  from  Peekskill 
with  an  American  detachment,  and  without  a blow  the 
English  tied  from  Hackensack  and  abandoned  Newark. 
Elizabethtown  was  also  surprised  by  a command  under 
Maxwell,  and  a hundred  prisoners  were  taken.  It  seems 
well-nigh  incredible  that  simultaneously  with  these 
events,  during  debates  in  Congress  concerning  reinforce- 
ments to  the  army,  a spirit  so  small  and  contemptible 
should  have  arisen  as  to  encourage  the  introduction  of  a 
resolution  instructing  Washington  not  only  to  curb  the 
enemy  but  to  annihilate  him  before  he  could  be  strength- 
ened. The  insult  was  actually  passed  by  a majority  of  one. 


TRENTON  AND  PRINCETON 


259 


In  September  of  this  year  a committee  of  Congress 
had  visited  the  American  camp  on  the  Harlem,  to  further 
confer  with  Washington  about  the  organiza- 
tion  and  equipment  or  a respectable  force  organizing  the 
fitted  to  carry  on  so  important  a war.  They  army‘ 
agreed,  after  a consultation  protracted  by  clashing  local 
interests,  that  the  States  should  furnish  eighty-three  bat- 
talions of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  men  each,  in  number 
according  to  population  and  wealth  ; Massachusetts  and 
Virginia  each  fifteen,  Pennsylvania  twelve,  North  Carolina 
nine,  Connecticut  eight,  South  Carolina  six,  provincial 
New  York  (the  city  was  in  English  hands)  and  New  Jer- 
sey each  four,  New  Hampshire  and  Maryland  each  three, 
Rhode  Island  two,  Delaware  and  Georgia  each  one.  Ev- 
ery State  was  to  enlist  and  equip  its  own  troops  at  the 
cost  of  the  general  treasury,  although  they  might  offer 
for  themselves  any  bounty  necessary  to  secure  the  quota. 
All  officers  under  the  grade  of  lieutenant-colonel  were  to 
be  local  appointments  ; but  they,  like  the  rest,  were  to 
hold  commissions  from  Congress,  and  both  classes,  along 
with  the  privates  enlisted  for  the  war,  were  to  receive 
land  bounties  and  pay  from  the  confederation. 

But  the  States  had  been  so  occupied  with  questions 
of  their  rights  and  sovereignty,  and  in  the  main  so  indif- 
ferent to  the  hard  labor  of  securing  their  lib-  Thwarted  by 
erties,  that  enlistments  were  as  slack  as  the  localism, 
public  temper.  It  was  believed  that  many  were  holding 
back  in  the  hope  of  increased  bounties  from  State,  county, 
or  townships,  as  the  case  might  be,  and,  contrary  both  to 
Washington’s  desires  and  the  public  policy,  some  of  the 
States  did  increase  their  offers  and  thus  put  a premium 
on  selfishness  and  calculation.  In  December  Congress 
had  authorized  the  commander-in-chief  to  raise  a special 
levy  which  should  be  under  his  own  direction  : sixteen 
infantry  battalions,  three  artillery  regiments,  three  thou- 


260  TIIE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


sand  light  horse,  and  an  engineer  corps.  For  six  months 
all  promotions  under  the  rank  of  brigadier  were  to  be  in 
his  hands.  In  spite  of  all  hindrances  the  enlistments 
made  some  advance,  old  officers  received  encouragement 
by  promotion,  and  new  ones  were  appointed.  Stirling, 
Mifflin,  St.  Clair,  Stephen,  and  Lincoln  were  made  major- 
generals,  though  Benedict  Arnold  was  passed  by  ; a num- 
ber received  commissions  as  brigadiers,  but  the  name  of 
Stark  was  omitted  from  the  list. 

For  a time  the  English  refused  an  equitable  inter- 
change of  prisoners,  claiming  that  their  enemies  were 
Timidity  of  rebels.  They,  however,  had  some  five  thou- 
the  States.  9an(J  captives,  many  of  whom  they  maltreated 
shamefully,  and  the  Americans  had  three  thousand,  so 
that  circumstances  compelled  an  unwilling  compliance 
by  Lord  Howe  with  the  ordinary  rules  then  in  vogue  for 
civilized  war.  Congress  had  the  best  will  to  create  a 
navy,  and  a committee  drew  up  a pompous  scheme  for 
twenty  men-of-war  to  protect  American  commerce.  But 
their  plan  outran  their  means,  and  it  was  by  privateers- 
men that  three  hundred  and  fifty  English  vessels,  valued 
with  their  cargoes,  at  about  $5,000,000,  were  captured 
during  the  first  year  of  the  war.  The  pernicious  work 
of  the  times  was  the  continuous  issue  of  paper  money, 
not  only  by  the  representatives  of  the  union  but  by  the 
States  as  well.  Busy  with  drawing  up  written  constitu- 
tions which  declared  virtual  independence  of  the  union 
by  assuming  the  monopoly  of  taxation,  they  yet  feared, 
in  the  uncertain  loyalty  of  so  many  of  their  inhabitants, 
to  jeopardize  their  very  existence  by  actually  exercising 
the  power  of  the  purse. 

A dispassionate  review  of  the  year  1776  seems  to  jus- 
tify two  generalizations  : first,  that  in  spite  of  inconsist- 
ency, feebleness,  and  jealousy  as  to  the  details  of  finance 
and  administration,  both  union  and  independence  in 


TRENTON  AND  PRINCETON 


261 


some  form  were  rendered  more  secure  by  the  very  vacil- 
lations of  public  opinion,  and  that  in  the  uncertainty  of 
military  operations  tliey  might  have  been  j eop-  Ame  r i c a n 
ardized  by  a higher  hand  in  Congress.  Sec-  ledthe  Amer- 
ond,  that  the  matchless  strategy  of  Washing-  ican  revolt, 
ton,  aided  by  excellent  generals,  could,  with  the  more 
permanent  army  and  growing  confidence  which  another 
year  would  have  supplied,  have  in  the  end  overmatched 
any  land  force  England  was  able  to  transport  to  America. 
If  these  conclusions  be  true,  the  American  cause  was  in- 
debted to  the  outside  aid,  which  appears  in  the  next 
phase  of  the  war,  not  for  ultimate  but  for  speedier  suc- 
cess than  it  would  otherwise  have  attained.  Posterity 
must  express  a profound  and  hearty  gratitude  for  the 
good-will  and  the  assistance  of  foreign  nations  and  in- 
dividuals, but  impartial  history  repudiates  the  claim, 
so  often  made  in  recent  years,  that  the  United  States 
owes  its  independence  entirely  to  the  intervention  of 
strangers. 


CHAPTER  XXn. 


BENNINGTON  AND  THE  BRANDYWINE  — JANUARY-SEP- 
TE.MBER,  1777 

Secret  Assistance  from  France— Franklin  in  Paris— French  Volun- 
teers—Lafayette  and  De  Kalb — Success  of  Franklin’s  Negotia- 
tions— England  and  the  Coming  Campaign — Expedition  of  the 
Howes  against  Philadelphia— Preliminary  Movements  in  New 
Jersey— Schuyler  and  Gates  in  the  North — Danbury  and  Sag 
Harbor — Burgoyne  Takes  Ticonderoga — Indian  Barbarities — 
Increase  of  Schuyler’s  Force — Fort  Stanwix — The  Fight  at 
Oriskany— Stark  at  Bennington— The  English  Defeated— Gen- 
eral Howe  at  Elkton — Washington’s  Army — The  Battle  on  the 
Brandywine— Loss  of  Philadelphia— The  English  at  German- 
town. 

The  politics  of  the  Family  Compact  between  France 
and  Spain  had  made  essential  the  delay  of  a year  before 
gecret  the  former  could  actively  participate  against 
sistance  tom  England  in  the  American  war.  The  subsidies 
had  been  given  and  arrangements  made  for 
supplying  munitions  from  the  government  arsenals  of 
France  through  concealed  channels.  Congress  had  re- 
quested Arthur  Lee,  a Virginian  resident  in  London,  to 
collect  information,  and  early  in  1776  it  sent  out  Silas 
Deane  as  an  agent.  The  former  had  become  intimate 
with  Beaumarchais,  who  was  also  in  London  as  an  irreg- 
ular agent  of  France,  and  by  his  intermediation  the  first 
subsidy  of  two  million  livres  reached  America.  The 
great  comedian  traded  under  the  fictitious  style  of 
Rodrigues,  Hortales  & Co.,  and  expecting  payment  in 
colonial  wares,  sent  to  the  United  States  one  hundred 


BENNINGTON  AND  THE  BRANDYWINE  263 


cannon,  four  thousand  tents,  clothing  for  thirty  thou- 
sand men,  and  arms  of  all  kinds.  Another  alias  was 
Durand,  that  by  which  he  was  known  at  Havre  in  De- 
cember of  the  same  year,  while  rehearsing  in  the  town 
theatre  his  own  comedies.  Deane,  with  the  best  inten- 
tions, involved  his  country  in  endless  difficulty,  while 
securing  also  the  most  precious  assistance.  Putting  the 
largest  interpretation  on  his  powers  he  entered  upon  the 
most  extravagant  negotiations,  granted  commissions  of 
the  highest  rank  to  volunteer  officers,  and  when  finally 
Lee  reached  France  the  two  together,  aided  by  Beaumar- 
chais, seriously  endangered  the  good  name  of  Congress 
by  then-  rashness. 

The  secret  preparations  of  the  cabinet  for  war  were 
steadily  progressing,  but  the  nation  was  becoming  im- 
patient. The  ardent  youth  saw  under  the  Franklin  in 
text  of  the  Declaration  the  principles  of  the  Paris- 
predominant  French  philosophy,  and  were  only  the 
more  enthusiastic  as  they  heard  the  news  of  successive 
American  defeats.  Toward  the  end  of  September  Con- 
gress had  commissioned  Franklin  and  Adams  to  act  with 
Lee  in  securing  from  Lewis  XVI.  the  recognition  of  in- 
dependence. Franklin  sailed  on  the  Reprisal,  the  first 
American  national  fighting-ship,  and  after  an  eventful 
voyage,  during  which  several  English  merchantmen  were 
captured,  arrived  in  Paris  on  December  21st,  just  in 
time  to  avail  himself  of  the  current  of  popular  sentiment 
then  setting  so  strongly  against  the  apparent  procrasti- 
nation of  the  authorities.  He  was  already  known  by 
reason  of  his  scientific  research  as  “ le  grand  Franklin  ; ” 
his  diplomatic  success  soon  paralleled  his  personal  repu- 
tation, for  he  became  immediately  and  literally  the  most 
popular  man  in  France.  Republican  comfort  and  sim- 
plicity, combined  with  benevolence  and  intellect,  as  ex- 
emplified in  the  cpiiet  house  at  Passy  where  he  lived,  be- 


264  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


came  a fashionable  rage.  Vergennes  at  once  received 
the  commissioners.,  but  in  secret,  and  granted  a new  sub- 
sidy of  two  million  francs,  payable  quarterly. 

Among  other  volunteers,  the  Duke  Charles-Francis  de 
Broglie  presented  to  Deane’s  notice,  on  November  5th, 
French vo'.-  ihe  Baron  de  Kalb,  who  though  a Prussian 
unteers.  ]jy  birth  had  long  been  in  the  French  ser- 
vice, having  fought  at  Rossbach  and  Bergen  and  acted 
as  agent  for  Clioiseul  in  a voyage  of  inquiry  to  America 
in  1769.  Next  day  De  Kalb  appeared  at  Deane’s  house 
with  three  friends — the  young  Lafayette,  his  brother-in- 
law,  and  his  cousin — who  had  secretly  banded  to  enlist 
themselves  and  their  fortunes  for  America.  The  two 
latter  fell  away  before  the  discouragements  of  their 
noble  friends,  De  Kalb  and  Lafayette  persisted  and  en- 
tered into  a definite  engagement  in  February,  1777. 

It  was  at  the  charge  of  the  latter  that  the  secret  expe- 
dition which  bore  them  to  America  was  fitted  out.  Both 
Lafayette  and  were  unknown  to  Congress,  and  their  recep- 
De  Kalb.  tion  was  clouded  by  the  remembrance  of  re- 
cent annoyances  from  Deane’s  impossible  promises  to 
indifferent  adventurers.  But  Lafayette  soon  won  the 
confidence  he  deserved,  and  became  a member  of  the 
general  staff.  His  name  was  destined  to  shine  in  Amer- 
ican history  with  a lustre  greater  even  than  that  which 
attaches  either  to  the  devoted  Poles,  Kosciusko  and  Pu- 
laski, both  of  whom  were  passionate  in  their  love  of  free- 
dom and  lavish  of  their  precious  services,  or  to  the  calm, 
judicious  Steuben,  who  in  the  hour  of  despair  pointed 
the  way  to  a restoration  of  hope  and  strength.  De  Kalb 
was  at  first  the  agent  of  De  Broglie  in  his  chimerical 
scheme  to  supplant  Washington  and  become  a William 
of  Orange  for  the  United  States.  Later  he  abandoned 
any  hope  of  success,  but  to  the  last  the  American  officers 
distrusted  him.  His  correspondence  was  so  large  and 


BENNINGTON  AND  THE  BRANDYWINE  265 


continuous  that  they  felt  it  must  have  some  secret 
end. 

Three  other  vessels  put  to  sea  with  stores,  and  two  of 
them  arrived  safely  ; the  third  was  captured,  for  by  this 
time  England  was  roused  and  scoured  the 

° . . Success  o f 

seas  with  her  cruisers.  But  American  trad-  Franklin’s  ne- 

ing  vessels  were  protected  in  French  ports, 
as  far*  as  the  French  policy  of  delay  would  permit,  and 
privateers  were  also  permitted  to  refit.  Franklin  and 
his  fellow-commissioners  began  their  labor  of  negotia- 
tion immediately,  and  while  the  tripartite  diplomacy  of 
France,  Spain,  and  the  United  States  seemed  to  move 
slowly,  yet  it  appeared  certain  that  war  with  England 
would  be  declared  by  the  two  continental  powers  not 
later  than  1778.  Thirteen  years  had  elapsed  since  the 
humiliating  treaty  of  1763,  and,  if  they  were  to  secure 
their  revenge,  longer  postponement  was  impossible. 

English  preparations  for  the  next  campaign  were  quite 
as  active  ; nearly  four  thousand  new  troops  were  bought 
in  Germany,  and  three  thousand  men  were  „ 

" . . England  and 

enlisted  from  the  Tories  and  recent  immi-  the  coming 

grants  in  America.  Savage  bands  were  or-  '* mpa 
ganized  for  work  on  the  frontier,  particularly  to  the 
north.  Parliament  suspended  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus 
as  to  prisoners  taken  on  the  high  seas,  impressed  Amer- 
ican seamen,  and  commissioned  privateers.  The  nation 
seemed  to  have  returned  to  the  Toryism  of  James  II.,  and 
endured  the  heavy  taxes  laid  by  the  ministry  for  the 
conduct  of  the  war  without  a murmur.  Burke  sought 
authority  to  negotiate  with  Franklin  for  conciliation  ; 
Chatham,  foreseeing  the  French  alliance,  demanded  un- 
conditional redress  of  American  grievances.  Parliament 
would  listen  to  neither.  Howe  had  asked  for  fifteen 
thousand  men  to  end  the  war  the  coming  summer  ; Lord 
George  Germain  refused,  and  sent  the  reinforcements  to 


266  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


Carleton,  that  Burgoyne  and  he  might  have  better  suc- 
cess with  an  expedition  from  the  north  than  the  Howes 
had  had  in  the  previous  year  at  Boston  and  New 
York. 

The  indignant  brothers  recalled  the  troops  from  New- 
port, in  Bhode  Island,  determined  to  combine  their  sea 
Expedition  and  land  forces,  evacuate  New  Jersey,  and 
a«ahstpS  proceed  by  sea  against  Philadelphia,  whith- 
deiphia.  er  Congress  had  returned  in  March,  1777. 
They  opened  the  campaign  in  June  by  a feint,  massing 
all  their  force  of  seventeen  thousand  men  at  New  Bruns- 
wick as  if  about  to  cut  off  Sullivan’s  division  at  Princeton 
and  set  out  once  more  across  the  Delaware.  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  was  to  remain  in  New  York  and  hold  the  atten- 
tion of  Washington  until  the  two  moves  were  made  by 
Burgoyne  and  Howe. 

Washington’s  effective  force  in  March  was  three  thou- 
sand strong.  The  enlistments  had  been  so  slow  that  the 
average  number  in  the  battalions  was  two  hun- 
movemeatem  dred  and  fifty,  instead  of  seven  hundred  and 
New  Jersey,  fifty.  in  Massachusetts  and  elsewhere  resort 
was  had  to  a forced  levy  which  included  many  negroes, 
and  before  the  campaign  opened  he  had  four  thousand 
more — raw  troops  for  the  most  part.  The  army  was 
divided  into  forty -three  regiments,  ten  brigades,  five 
divisions.  With  this  force  he  moved  from  Morris- 
town to  Middlebrook,  nine  miles  from  New  Brunswick. 
Howe  vainly  strove  to  turn  his  left,  or  bring  him  to  bat- 
tle on  the  lowlands,  and  on  July  5th  embarked  for  Phil- 
adelphia. Putnam  was  appointed  to  defend  the  High- 
land posts,  where  it  was  not  only  possible  but  probable 
that  the  English  forces  of  Burgoyne  and  Howe  would 
seek  to  join,  and  thus  at  last  secure  the  Hudson.  He 
was  to  have  eight  of  the  fifteen  Massachusetts  battal- 
ions. 


BENNINGTON  AND  THE  BRANDYWINE  267 


The  department  of  the  North,  comprising  Stanwix,  Ti- 
conderoga,  and  Albany,  had  so  far  remained  under  the 
command  of  Schuyler,  who  for  various  rea-  „ , 

. Schuyler 

sons  felt  himself  justified  m a severe  arraign-  and  Gates  in 
ment  of  Congress.  In  April,  Gates,  who  knew 
how  to  win  the  favor  of  the  legislators,  was  sent  to  re- 
place him.  After  a thorough  examination  of  the  circum- 
stances, Congress,  by  a majority  of  one,  reinstated  Schuy- 
ler for  his  splendid  services  to  the  cause.  Good  work 
had  been  done  in  the  interval.  Ticonderoga  was  rein- 
forced by  militia  and  new  levies  from  Massachusetts. 
The  two  men  were  left,  however,  in  an  indefinite  relation 
to  each  other,  which  bred  a serious  quarrel,  and  thus 
fermented  at  last  a peevish  local  jealousy  between  demo- 
cratic New  England  and  aristocratic  New  York.  After 
the  necessary  evacuation  of  Ticonderoga  and  the  with- 
drawal of  the  forces  under  Schuyler  to  Fort  Edward,  the 
public  was  a second  time  moved  to  unjustifiable  censure 
of  his  conduct,  and  on  August  1st  he  was  formally  su- 
perseded by  the  arch-schemer,  Horatio  Gates. 

While  these  precautions  were  carefully  taken,  two  mi- 
nor successes  gave  a cheerful  opening  to  the  year.  Try- 
on  had  debarked  two  thousand  of  his  Long 

_ Danbury 

Island  royalists  at  Danbury,  in  Connecticut,  and  sag  Har- 
and  destroyed  the  American  stores  collected 
there.  Arnold  avenged  the  loss  by  a successful  attack  in 
which  the  English  lost  two  hundred  men.  Still  further 
reparation  was  obtained  in  May  by  the  feat  of  Colonel 
Meigs,  who  destroyed  at  Sag  Harbor,  on  Long  Island,  a 
large  magazine  of  English  supplies,  took  ninety  prisoners, 
and  burned  eleven  ships.  The  latter  officer  received  a 
sword  from  Congress  in  recognition  of  his  daring,  and  the 
former  was  at  last  rewarded  by  the  tardy  honor  of  pro- 
motion to  the  rank  of  major-general. 

Burgoyne  reached  Canada  early  in  May,  and  in  virtue 


268  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


of  his  commission  assumed  the  chief  command.  By  the 
middle  of  June  his  force  was  fully  equipped  and  the 
„ march  began.  Conferences  were  held  on  the 

Burg  ovne 

takes  Ticon-  way  with  the  Indians,  and  proclamations  com- 
pounded of  threats  and  exhortations  were  is- 
sued to  the  Americans.  On  the  first  of  July  he  reached 
Ticonderoga,  and  by  the  erection  of  a battery  at  Fort 
Defiance,  on  the  neighboring  hill,  dislodged  St.  Clair  and 
the  garrison  of  some  three  thousand  men,  destroying  all 
the  boats  and  stores.  To  secure  his  communications  he 
left  in  the  famous  fort  a body  of  troops  so  large  that  it 
weakened  his  invading  army  unnecessarily.  The  Ameri- 
cans wisely  withdrew  from  one  post  to  another,  until  a 
stand  could  reasonably  be  made  south  of  the  wilderness, 
with  the  help  of  the  militia  which  Schuyler  was  gather- 
ing in  from  the  immediate  neighborhood  and  the  other 
reinforcements  which  were  sent  mainly  by  New  England 
for  Lincoln’s  command,  and  by  George  Clinton,  now  gov- 
ernor of  the  State.  Some  of  these,  Morgan’s  band  of  five 
hundred  rangers,  for  instance,  were  even  sent  by  Wash- 
ington. 

The  Indian  allies  of  Burgoyne  gave  free  play  to  their 
native  brutality,  murdered  the  helpless,  and  committed 
Indian  bar-  nameless  barbarities.  Outrages  like  that 
banties.  which  made  the  innocent  and  trustful  Jane 
McCrea,  who,  though  affianced  to  a lieutenant  in  the 
English  army,  was  the  sister  of  an  Albany  AVhig,  the 
heroine  of  tradition,  were  of  far-reaching  consequence  in 
rousing  the  surrounding  farmers  to  action,  and  feeding 
the  fires  of  patriotism.  Burgoyne’s  own  feelings  of  hu- 
manity were  outraged,  but  he  dared  not  punish  the  as- 
sassin. When,  however,  he  enjoined  his  allies  from  grat- 
ifying their  savage  instincts  they  lost  heart  and  fell  away 
from  him  in  numbers. 

There  could  have  been  no  finer  strategy  than  Schuy- 


BENNINGTON  AND  THE  BRANDYWINE  269 


ler’s.  The  English  army,  encumbered  with  great  bag- 
gage-trains, was  three  weeks  in  traversing  the  wild, 

tangled,  and  nearly  trackless  forest  between 

° J Increase  of 

Skenesborougn  and  tlie  Hudson.  Every  day  Schuyler's 

weakened  its  force,  while  that  of  the  Ameri- 
cans was  hourly  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  new  men 
and  the  growth  of  an  irresistible  enthusiasm.  In  fact  it 
was  the  very  size  of  Schuyler’s  hitherto  retreating  and 
idle  army  -which  led  to  invidious  comparisons  with  the 
scanty  numbers  on  which  the  people  relied  for  the  de- 
fence of  the  rich  country  south  of  New  York  and  of  the 
seat  of  government.  But  Washington  showed  his  dis- 
dain of  the  public  jealousy  by  sending  both  Arnold  and 
Lincoln  to  comfort  Schuyler  and  help  him  in  the  coming 
crisis. 

To  insure  Burgoyne’s  success  beyond  a peradventure 
an  auxiliary  expedition,  which  had  been  for  some  time 
under  consideration,  was  at  length  organized  Fort  s tan- 
under  the  leadership  of  St.  Leger,  and  de-  W1X> 
spatched  according  to  Germain’s  orders.  It  was  to  pro- 
ceed by  way  of  Lake  Ontario,  Oswego,  and  the  Mohawk 
valley,  to  strike  the  Americans  on  their  flank  and  rear. 
On  the  divide  between  the  water-sheds  of  the  Mohawk 
and  the  Great  Lakes  stood  Fort  Stanwix,  a small  frontier 
post  held  by  seven  hundred  Americans  under  Colonel 
Gansevoort.  As  the  enemy  in  superior  numbers  ap- 
proached, the  danger  became  so  imminent  and  manifest 
that  the  militia  of  Tryon  County,  German  settlers  for  the 
most  part,  were  summoned,  and  under  the  command  of  a 
gallant  old  man,  General  Herkimer,  they  set  out  to  relieve 
and  reinforce  the  garrison.  The  British  expedition  was 
composed  in  large  part  of  Indians,  under  Johnson  and 
Brant.  St.  Leger  arrived  on  August  3d,  and  beleaguered 
the  fort  before  the  militia  could  come  in.  An  ambuscade 
of  savages  was  then  laid  to  surprise  Herkimer. 


270  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


On  the  sixth,  at  Oriskany,  within  a short  march  of 
Stanwix,  the  Americans  fell  into  the  snare.  A terrific 
The  fight  at  slaughter,  lasting  an  hour  and  a half,  ensued, 
Oriskany.  as  the  Indians  fell  on  both  flanks  from  their 
lurking-places  in  the  forest,  and  the  white  men  stopped 
the  advance.  Herkimer  was  severely  wounded,  but  sup- 
ported against  a tree  in  a sitting  posture  calmly  encour- 
aged his  men  until  the  end.  A sally  fx-om  the  fort  was 
made,  but  without  results.  The  total  loss  on  both  sides 
has  been  computed  at  nearly  four  hundred.  The  victory 
remained  to  the  Indians.  St.  Leger  was,  liowevei’,  so 
weakened  that  he  could  not  even  attempt  to  cai’ry  the 
place  by  assault.  Meantime  two  messengers  had  reached 
Schuyler.  Arnold  with  a relief  corps  was  promptly  de- 
spatched to  repel  the  besiegers.  By  an  industi’ious  use 
of  emissaries,  exaggerated  rumors  were  disseminated  in 
St.  Legei-'s  camp  and  the  dimensions  of  the  coming 
army  so  magnified  that  the  Indians,  overwhelmed  with 
panic,  seized  from  their  allies  what  plunder  they  could 
snatch  and  fled.  The  few  English,  Hessians,  and  Cana- 
dians which  composed  the  remnant  of  the  expedition, 
began  their  retreat  on  August  22d.  Dismayed  and 
aghast  at  the  unreliability  of  the  Indians  the  panic 
spread  and  soon  converted  their  movements  into  a 
flight. 

To  give  St.  Leger  every  chance,  Burgovne  himself 
had  planned  a diversion  against  Bennington,  on  his 
stark  at  Ben-  other  wing,  where  there  was  supposed  to  be 

nington.  an  American  depot.  Near  by  the  redoubt- 
able Stark  was  in  command  of  a few  hundi’ed  militia-men 
from  the  Hampshire  grants.  When  news  of  the  intended 
attack  was  received,  active  preparations  to  strengthen  his 
force  began  immediately.  Warnei',  of  Vermont,  brought 
the  strongest  x-einfoi’cement,  but  the  first  to  come  was 
a militia  regiment  from  Berkshire,  Massachusetts,  under 


BENNINGTON  AND  THE  BRANDY  WINE  271 


the  fighting  parson,  Allen,  who  reminded  Stark  that  Berk- 
shire men,  though  summoned  before,  never  had  yet  been 
given  a chance  for  glory,  and  would  not  come  again  if 
disappointed  now.  This  remark  and  Stark’s  first  decla- 
ration next  morning,  “Ours  before  night,  or  Molly  Stark’s 
a widow,”  foreshadowed  a hand-to-hand  and  desperate 
conflict.  The  British  force  at  first  detailed  by  Bur- 
goyne  was  composed  of  Hessians,  loyalists,  and  Indi- 
ans, some  seven  hundred  in  all,  and  was  commanded  by 
Baum.  But  to  insure  success  Breyman,  with  nearly  as 
many  Brunswick  yagers  was  despatched  the  next  day. 

On  August  16th  the  battle  was  joined.  The  ensuing 
struggle  was  one  of  the  most  stubborn  in  the  war.  Here 
again  the  Indians  proved  utterly  unreliable,  The  English 
and  exclaiming  that  the  woods  were  full  of  defeated. 
Yankees,  fled  almost  at  the  first  onset.  Baum  -was 
killed,  and  his  white  troops  surrendered.  Breyman  ar- 
rived soon  afterward  and  fought  bravely  for  a time,  but 
he  too  was  routed.  On  the  English  side  only  sixty  were 
killed,  but  nearly  seven  hundred  men  and  four  cannon 
were  captured,  Baum’s  force  being  simply  annihilated. 
The  Americans  lost  forty  wounded  and  thirty  killed. 
The  battle  of  Bennington  has  been  justly  regarded  as  a 
decisive  engagement.  It  left  Burgoyne  with  both  flanks 
exposed,  demoralized  his  centre,  caused  large  numbers 
of  Indians  and  Canadians  to  fly  in  hopeless  terror  to 
their  homes,  and  gave  additional  moral  strength  to 
Washington,  who  heard  the  news  while  awaiting  near 
Wilmington,  Delaware,  the  arrival  of  the  Howes.  The 
northern  army  had  secured  a strategic  advantage,  and 
was  strong  in  both  numbers  and  courage  when  Gates  ar- 
rived to  supersede  Schuyler  on  August  19tli. 

It  was  a fleet  of  three  hundred  ships  in  which  the  Eng- 
lish had  sailed  from  New  York  for  Philadelphia.  Howe 
had  been  baffled  in  his  attempt  to  cross  New  Jersey  the 


272  THE  FRENCH  AVAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

previous  year,  the  sea-voyage  was  scarcely  more  success- 
ful ; for  when  he  arrived  off  the  capes  of  the  Delaware  it 
General  Howe  was  found  that  obstructions  had  been  so 
at  Eikton.  placed  as  to  make  the  ascent  of  that  river  im- 
practicable. Accordingly  he  determined  to  go  further 
south,  sail  up  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  march  from  Eikton 
at  its  head  across  to  Philadelphia,  a distance  of  fifty- 
four  miles  ! The  long  voyage  bi’ouglit  him  scarcely 
nearer  his  goal  than  he  had  been  at  Perth  Amboy.  The 
English  were  thirty- three  days  on  shipboard,  and  when 
they  landed,  their  force  of  some  seventeen  thousand  men 
found  themselves  once  more  confronted  by  Washington, 
who  had  interposed  his  army  between  them  and  their 
goal. 

The  American  commander  had  been  vainly  struggling 
to  secure  a national  army.  State  feeling  had  grown 
Wa'lHgton’s  steadily  more  unreasonable  and  violent,  the 

army.  dangers  to  liberty  of  a standing  army  being 
constantly  displayed  as  a bugbear  against  a definite  pol- 
icy and  concerted  action.  Congress,  moreover,  had  but 
little  opportunity  for  legitimate  work,  however  urgent, 
for  their  time  Avas  monopolized  in  the  wrangles  of  office- 
seekers,  both  native  and  foreign.  A call  was  issued, 
however,  for  the  militia  of  Maryland,  Delaware,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  New  Jersey.  The  Jersey  men  were  already 
occupied  in  the  Highlands  ; none  of  them  and  but  few 
of  the  others  obeyed  the  summons.  In  the  total  of  be- 
tween fourteen  and  fifteen  thousand  under  his  command 
there  was  but  a small  body  of  reliable  veteran  troops. 
In  point  of  numbers  also,  there  was,  of  course,  marked 
superiority  on  the  English  side. 

The  opposing  armies  meet  on  September  10th,  at 
Chad’s  Ford  of  the  Brandywine  Creek,  which  flows  into 
the  Delaware  near  Wilmington.  There  was  very  little 
organized  action  on  either  side,  and  the  engagement  was 


BENNINGTON  AND  THE  BRANDYWINE  273 


a series  of  distinct  conflicts.  Knyphausen  engaged 
Washington  in  the  centre,  while  Cornwallis  ascending 
the  stream  easily  routed  the  right  wing  under  _ 

Sullivan.  Great  gallantry  was  displayed  on  on  the^  Bran- 
both  sides  ; many  of  the  French  officers, 
among  them  Lafayette,  fought  with  spirit  and  daring, 
while  Pulaski,  the  Pole,  displayed  the  qualities  which  have 
made  his  name  renowned.  The  American  loss  in  killed, 
wounded,  and  prisoners  was  upward  of  a thousand  ; 
that  of  the  English  about  sis  hundred,  not  inconsider- 
able as  Sir  William  Howe  said  in  generously  emphasizing 
the  bravery  of  the  Americans.  But  the  victory  was  with 
the  English  and  decided  the  fate  of  Philadelphia. 

Washington  drew  off  his  shattered  army  in  tolerable 
order,  and  as  the  English  were  detained  in  the  transfer 
of  their  wmunded  to  Wilmington,  took  a po-  Loss  o£  Phila. 
sition  near  Germantown,  carefully  guarding  delphia' 
the  approaches  to  prevent  his  being  shut  in  between  the 
Delaware  and  the  Schuylkill.  Congress  fled  first  to 
Lancaster,  and  later  to  York.  On  the  sixteenth  the  two 
armies  were  within  striking  distance,  but  a storm  inter- 
vened and  the  Americans  withdrew  behind  the  Schuyl- 
kill. Wayne  was  left  to  turn  the  English,  if  possible  ; but 
on  the  twentieth  he  was  betrayed  by  a Tory,  overpowered 
by  a force  of  regulars  under  Grey,  and  the  city  was  open 
to  the  conquerors. 

But  Washington,  though  defeated,  was  still  a danger- 
ous foe  and  near  at  hand.  He  had  reinforcements  from 
Putnam  and  Smallwood  of  Maryland,  in  ad- 
dition to  Wayne’s  detachment,  which  had  re-  Hsh  at  Gei- 
joined  the  army.  Howe  moved  down  the 
west  side  of  the  Schuylkill,  but  finding  the  Swedes’  Ford 
entrenched  he  turned  and  crossed  higher  up,  reaching 
Germantown  on  the  twenty-fifth,  where  he  encamped 
with  his  line  at  right  angles  to  the  long  village  street, 
IS 


274  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


about  the  middle.  Washington  withdrew  to  Metuchen 
Hills,  some  miles  distant.  On  the  twenty-sixth  Corn- 
wallis with  three  thousand  men  occupied  Philadelphia. 
All  the  patriots  had  lied,  and  of  the  five  thousand  inhab- 
itants or  less  who  remained,  even  the  Quakers  and  loyal- 
ists gave  little  evidence  of  pleasure.  Moreover,  there 
was  no  communication  between  the  army  and  the  fleet, 
for  the  Americans  still  held  the  forts,  named  respectively 
Mifflin  and  Mercer,  which  commanded  the  confluence  of 
the  Schuylkill  and  Delaware  below  the  city. 


CHAPTEK  XXm. 


SARATOGA  AND  THE  FRENCH  ALLIANCE— SEPTEMBER- 
DECEMBER,  1777 

The  Army  of  the  North — Its  Position  near  Stillwater— The  First 
Day’s  Battle  at  Bemis’s  Heights — The  English  Pass  the  High- 
lands— The  Battle  of  Freeman’s  Farm — Retreat  of  Burgoyne — 
Surrender  at  Saratoga — The  Battle  of  Germantown— Affairs 
near  Philadelphia — Summary  of  the  Year's  Campaign — Con- 
gress and  the  Cabal — Continental  Money  and  Valley  Forge — 
Prosperity  of  the  People— Success  of  the  State  Governments— 
Weakness  of  the  Confederation — The  Public  Finances — The 
News  of  Saratoga  in  France— The  Compact  of  Friendship. 

The  army  of  which  Gates  took  command  was  the 
most  efficient  so  far  organized  by  the  Americans.  It 
was  somewhat  larger  than  that  of  Burgoyne,  The  armv  of 
and  through  the  generosity  of  France  supple-  the  North- 
menting  the  grants  of  New  York,  was  well  equipped. 
On  the  right  bank  of  the  Hudson,  north  of  the  Mohawk, 
were  about  ten  thousand  men,  including  the  militia  from 
the  neighborhood.  Some  of  them,  like  Morgan’s  rang- 
ers and  the  New  York  regulars,  were  tried  and  veteran. 
Among  the  leaders  were  Livingston  and  Philip  van  Cort- 
landt.  The  right  wing  across  the  river  was  composed  of 
New  England  militia,  resplendent  with  the  success  at 
Bennington,  and  commanded  by  Lincoln,  who  had  not 
only  the  affection  of  his  men,  but  could  ever  arouse  in 
them  an  intense  and  patriotic  enthusiasm.  Arnold  was 
returning  on  the  left  with  the  laurels  of  Stanwix,  eager 
for  glory  and  consumed  with  ambition.  Schuyler  re- 


276  THE  FRENCH  AVAR  AND  THE  REA'OLHTION 


ceived  Gates  politely,  and  Avitli  admirable  self-control 
gave  all  the  information  at  his  command  for  the  use  of 
a rival  who  had  schemed  for  his  humiliation.  But  being 
treated  with  discourtesy  he  withdrew  to  his  home,  leav- 
ing his  successor  to  reap  where  he  had  sowed. 

On  the  eighth  of  September  the  advance  began,  and 
on  the  twelfth  the  Americans  were  encamped  near  the 

its  position  village  of  Stillwater,  on  Bemis’s  Heights,  a 
near  Stillwater.  pne  0£  perpendicular  to  the  course  of 

the  Hudson  and  reaching  eastward  almost  to  its  banks. 
Gates  commanded  the  right  near  the  river,  Arnold  the 
left  at  Freeman’s  farm.  Burgoyne’s  advance  through 
the  wilderness  had  been  unaccountably  slow  ; both  his 
Canadian  and  Indian  allies  had  shown  themselves  un- 
trustworthy, and,  worse  than  all,  Ticonderoga,  with  a 
garrison  of  two  hundred  and  ninety-three  regulars,  its 
arms  and  stores,  had  been  recaptured  by  a party  of 
American  light  horse  which  also  burnt  the  flotilla  of 
boats.  Retreat  was  thus  entirely  cut  off,  and  a some- 
what disheartened  force  of  about  sis  thousand  men  ad- 
vanced with  lagging  steps  toward  the  well-chosen  posi- 
tion of  their  opponents. 

Finally,  on  the  nineteenth,  Burgoyne  attacked  in  three 
columns,  his  centre  charging  up  a ravine  to  turn  the 

The  first  American  left,  which  consisted  of  three  thou- 
at  BemfsAs  sand  troops,  largely  the  farmer  militia.  Ar- 
iieights.  nold’s  chance  had  come  and  the  battle  raged 
literally  with  fury,  hot  and  direct,  with  little  or  no 
attempt  at  tactics  or  manoeuvre,  until  nightfall,  some 
three  hours  or  more.  It  was  utterly  indecisive  and 
victory  was  won  by  neither  side.  The  American  loss 
was  three  hundred  and  twenty,  while  that  of  the  English 
was  over  six  hundred.  The  latter,  however,  held  the 
lower  slope,  which  had  been  lost  and  won  a dozen  times 
in  the  surging  charges  of  the  day,  but  their  advance  was 


SARATOGA  AND  THE  FRENCH  ALLIANCE  277 


checked,  and  that  in  a conflict  of  regulars  with  militia. 
The  unstinted  use  of  Canadian  bushrangers  and  Indians 
to  harass  the  Americans  failed  entirely,  and  the  regu- 
lar forces  were  not  even  entrenched  in  the  new  posi- 
tion they  had  won.  Arnold  naturally  felt  that  the  day 
was  his,  and  would  have  continued  the  conflict  next 
morning  while  the  enemy  were  weak.  But  Gates  as- 
serted his  technical  authority  against  Arnold’s  moral 
right,  and  refused.  The  latter,  fretted  by  a delay 
which  extended  not  to  hours  but  to  days,  and  in  the 
self-importance  of  sensitive  pride,  hastily  and  rashly  re- 
signed. 

On  the  twenty-first  a message  from  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
in  New  York  reached  Burgoyne’s  camp  at  Freeman’s 
farm.  A diversion  was  to  be  made  against 
the  militia  force  under  Putnam,  which  Wash-  pass  the  Hiph- 
ington  had  set  to  wTateh  the  Highlands.  How  JU  s‘ 
long  could  the  invaders  from  the  north  hold  out?  The 
answer,  taking  careful  account  of  stores  and  the  endur- 
ance of  the  troops,  was,  until  October  12th.  Mean- 
time Putnam  was  drawn  off  behind  the  Peekskill  hills  by 
a feint,  and  two  thousand  English  and  Germans  were 
landed  to  storm  Fort  Clinton.  But  George  Clinton,  now 
governor,  had  foreseen  the  scheme,  and  throwm  himself 
with  a few  hastily  gathered  men  into  the  works,  while 
his  brother  James  was  sent  to  Fort  Montgomery  for  its 
defence.  There  was  therefore  a gallant  resistance  on 
the  west  shore,  but  the  battle  of  Stony  Point  was  a 
defeat  for  the  Americans,  and  both  posts  were  stormed 
on  the  same  day,  October  6th.  The  Continental  vessels 
sent  to  guard  the  great  iron  chain  and  boom  stretch- 
ing from  Fort  Montgomery  to  the  mountain  known 
as  Anthony’s  Nose  proved  inefficient,  and  the  obstacles 
were  captured.  The  coveted  water  - way  was  thus 
opened  to  Albany,  and  the  English  scouts  plundered 


278  TIIE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


the  mansion-houses  with  which  the  river  was  even  then 
lined,  as  far  north  as  Kingston. 

But  the  success  was  worthless,  for  Burgoyne’s  cal- 
culation had  been  illusive.  He  had  taken  advantage  of 
The  b a 1 1 ie  Gates’s  supineness  to  entrench  himself  at  Free- 
farm'reeman  s mans  farra>  but  forage  and  supplies  were  cut 
off  by  American  scouts  on  every  side.  The 
Tories,  Canadians,  and  Indians,  who  had  served  thus  far 
as  auxiliaries,  became  more  disheartened  as  the  patriots 
of  the  surrounding  country  grew  more  bold,  and  desert- 
ed in  ever-increasing  numbers.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
American  forces  were  ever  growing  by  the  accession  of 
volunteer  farmers,  for  the  harvest  was  now  past.  Lin- 
coln also  came  across  with  two  thousand  militia  and  took 
command  of  the  right  wing.  The  situation  of  the  Eng- 
lish was  becoming  desperate,  and  on  October  7th,  Bur- 
goyne  threw  out  a reconnoisance  of  fifteen  hundred  men 
in  line  of  battle  to  test  the  American  strength,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  cover  a foraging  party.  His  artillery, 
well  served  and  efficient,  was  posted  about  half  a mile 
from  the  American  camp.  Gates  sent  a detachment  to 
thwart  the  movement.  The  English  left  and  right  were 
easily  turned,  but  the  Germans  in  the  centre  fought 
bravely,  and  Arnold,  though  without  a command,  impetu- 
ously put  himself  at  the  head  of  his  old  forces,  and  with 
conspicuous  valor  led  the  assault.  The  courage  of  the 
English  was  splendid,  but  the  Americans  came  in  on 
their  rear,  captured  the  artillery,  and  compelled  them  to 
withdraw  into  their  entrenchments.  Even  then  Bur- 
goyne  was  so  exposed  that,  but  for  the  failing  light  at 
nightfall,  his  camp  might  have  been  captured. 

This  second  action  at  Bemis’s  Heights,  though  Gates 
again  was  not  in  the  field,  was  the  decisive  battle  of  the 
campaign.  The  Americans  lost  fifty  killed  and  a hun- 
dred and  fifty  wounded,  among  the  latter  was  Arnold. 


SARATOGA  AND  THE  FRENCH  ALLIANCE  279 

But  the  total  English  loss  in  killed,  wounded,  and  pris- 
oners was  six  hundred  and  twenty-five.  Their  entrench- 
ments, moreover,  were  so  weak  that  the  same  Retreat  of 
night,  the  seventh,  they  began  to  retreat.  On  Bars°yne. 
the  tenth  they  were  in  position  beyond  the  Fishkill,  a 
tributary  of  the  Hudson  near  Saratoga.  The  horrors  of 
the  march  are  better  known  from  the  memoirs  of  Riedesel 
than  almost  any  scene  of  the  war.  The  rain  fell  in  tor- 
rents ; sick,  wounded,  and  baggage  were  left  behind,  a 
scant  three  days’  provision  remained,  and  it  was  a for- 
lorn and  dispirited  army  which  hastily  entrenched  itself 
at  Saratoga.  Their  case  was  even  worse  than  they  knew, 
for  Stark,  with  fresh  militia  from  New  Hampshire,  and 
several  other  American  detachments  were  closing  in  on 
the  rear,  while  Gates  was  content  to  spend  two  idle  days 
in  the  abandoned  camp  of  his  enemy. 

Negotiations  were  opened  by  Burgoyne  on  the  four- 
teenth. A convention  between  the  two  commanders  was 
finally  completed.  Its  terms  were  absurdly  surrender 
lenient,  for  the  English  were  at  the  mercy  of  a at  Sarat°ea- 
superior  force  ; but  Gates  is  said  to  have  been  informed  of 
the  events  at  Stony  Point,  although  Burgoyne  remained 
in  ignorance  until  the  sixteenth,  the  very  day  when,  un- 
der the  new  banner  of  the  stars  and  stripes,  the  formali- 
ties of  surrender  were  accomplished.  This  was  the  end  of 
the  season’s  campaign  for  the  possession  of  the  Hudson. 
From  May  to  September  the  English  had  lost  in  killed, 
disabled,  and  captives,  nearly  ten  thousand  men,  among 
whom  were  personages  of  the  highest  distinction.  The 
river,  except  at  its  mouth,  was  in  virtual  possession  of 
the  Americans,  although  the  victorious  army  melted 
away  as  rapidly  as  it  had  gathered.  The  militia  re- 
turned to  their  homes  and  vocations ; the  little  nucleus 
of  enlisted  Continentals  was  all  that  remained  to  recall 
its  existence. 


280  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


It  does  not  appear  that  Washington  ever  intended  to 

leave  Philadelphia  in  English  hands  -without  another 

The  battle  blow.  He  had  to  remove  the  serious  hin- 

of  German-  drance  to  action  caused  by  the  conduct  of 
town.  J 

the  rump  Congress  sitting  at  Lancaster  and 
York  through  a skilful  use  of  the  ever  better  news 
from  the  north,  explaining  to  his  soldiers  that  he  too 
might  lead  them  to  victory  because  of  Howe’s  supineness 
and  incapacity  to  command.  The  army  moved  from  its 
position  at  Metuchen  Hills  in  the  evening  of  October  3d, 
and  reached  Chestnut  Hills  in  the  early  morning  of  the 
fourth.  A dense  mist  enveloped  the  whole  country,  con- 
cealing its  movement  from  the  English,  who  were  still 
encamped  across  the  street  of  Germantown.  Washing- 
ton knew  that  they  were  weakened  by  detachments  sent 
to  convey  provision  trains  from  Chester,  and  hoped  by 
a successful  surprise  to  throw  the  diminished,  but  still 
superior,  force  of  his  enemy  into  panic.  At  early  dawn 
the  division  under  Sullivan  attacked,  and  for  a time  suc- 
cess seemed  assured,  for  the  English  were  momentarily 
dismayed.  But  Greene’s  column,  the  main  force  destined 
to  turn  the  enemy’s  left,  had  been  misled  in  the  darkness 
and  arrived  in  breathless  disorder  to  meet  troops  which 
had  regained  their  confidence  and  were  drawn  up  in 
strong  formation.  The  day  was  really  lost  by  nine  in 
the  morning,  but  the  retreat  of  the  Americans  was 
bravely  and  successfully  covered  by  Wayne.  The  defeat 
was  serious  in  the  loss  by  Sullivan  and  Greene  of  more 
than  a thousand  men,  while  the  British  casualties  were 
but  half  the  number. 

The  first  news  to  reach  Washington  on  his  retreat  was 
that  of  Stony  Point,  but  soon  came  the  inspiriting  ac- 
counts of  Saratoga,  New  regiments  came  in  and  he  was 
able  to  resume  for  a time  his  menacing  position  before 
Germantown.  The  country  at  large  felt  the  encourage- 


SARATOGA  AND  THE  FRENCH  ALLIANCE  281 

ment  not  alone  of  victory  on  the  Hudson,  but  of  the 
vigor  which  neutralized  the  defeat  on  the  Brandywine 
by  the  speedily  renewed  attack  on  the  Schuyl-  Affairs  near 
kill,  and  the  overthrow  at  Germantown  by  so  Philadelphia, 
prompt  a renewal  of  ability  to  continue  fighting.  Such, 
in  fact,  was  the  respect  felt  by  the  British  for  American 
arms,  that  Howe  withdrew  to  Philadelphia  and  began 
operations  to  remove  the  obstructions  between  the  city 
and  the  fleet  below.  Donop  and  his  Hessians  first  strove 
to  storm  the  works  at  Red  Bank,  commanded  by  Chris- 
topher Greene,  but  they  were  repulsed.  The  Americans 
fought  with  courage  and  skill  unsurpassed  in  the  war. 
The  ships  sent  up  from  the  English  fleet  ran  aground 
and  were  fired  by  a cannonade  from  galleys  and  floating 
batteries.  There  were  many  minor  movements,  however, 
in  the  neighborhood,  resulting  in  conflicts  favorable  on 
the  whole  to  the  British.  In  one  of  them  Lafayette  dis- 
tinguished himself  against  the  Hessians. 

It  was  November  before,  at  last,  the  longed-for  com- 
munication was  established.  Howe  was  so  disheartened 
by  the  stubbornness  of  a resistance  which 
robbed  him  of  the  fruits  of  victory,  that  he  the11  yTa'r’ °s 
asked  leave  to  resign,  and  filling  the  air  with  campaign- 
complaints  of  Germain,  declared  that  without  great  re- 
inforcements not  even  another  campaign  would  end  the 
war.  He  might  well  feel  as  he  did,  for  while  the  English 
spent  the  winter  in  riotous  gayety  in  Philadelphia,  losing 
all  benefits  from  its  capture,  the  Americans  beset  every 
approach,  and  the  close  of  the  year  1777  found  the  entire 
country,  excepting  only  Long  Island,  Staten  Island,  and 
the  three  cities  of  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  Newport, 
again  in  the  possession  of  its  defenders.  Washington 
and  his  army  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Valley  Forge. 
It  is  useless  to  speculate  concerning  undeveloped  pos- 
sibilities ; but  the  events  of  the  war  down  to  the  French 


2S2  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

alliance  and  the  declaration  of  war  by  the  French  ad- 
ministration, did  not  portend  defeat  to  the  Americans 
even  if  unassisted.  Such  was  the  condition  of  English 
politics  that,  inadequate  as  her  efforts  now  seem  in  the 
light  of  her  subsequent  greatness,  they  were  in  that 
day  and  in  the  temper  of  her  people,  the  utmost  she 
could  possibly  exert.  The  real  strength  of  the  Ameri- 
can people  had,  on  the  other  hand,  not  yet  appeared ; 
what  most  strikes  us  in  our  present  cohesion  and  power 
is  the  sorry  tale  of  those  public  weaknesses  and  that  dis- 
organization which  were  both,  in  large  measure,  due  to 
the  possibility  of  attaining  the  end  through  European 
complications,  by  foreign  aid  and  without  serious  self- 
sacrifice. 

It  has  been  justly  remarked  that  the  Continental  mon- 
ey and  the  Continental  Congress  were  together  at  their 
Congress  and  lowest  in  Lancaster  and  York.  The  really 
the  cabal,  great  and  strong  delegates  were  for  the  most 
part  absent.  Franklin,  John  Adams,  Jefferson,  John 
Rutledge,  and  Jay,  were  either  in  Europe  on  diploma- 
tic missions  or  doing  necessary  work  in  States  where 
public  opinion  needed  strength  and  guidance.  Of  all 
the  rest  there  were  sometimes  present  but  nine  members, 
rarely  more  than  seventeen.  There  was  much  talk  of 
how  unfavorably  Washington’s  failures  contrasted  with 
Gates’s  successes.  The  enemies  of  the  commander-in- 
chief  were  not  only  heard  and  harbored,  but  during  the 
winter  was  formed  an  infamous  cabal  to  destroy  his  in- 
fluence. Its  members  were  Gates,  Lee,  Mifflin,  and  Con- 
way. Their  scheme  was  to  despatch  a midwinter  expe- 
dition to  capture  Canada  and  win  Lafayette  to  their  side 
by  offering  him  the  independent  command.  For  a time 
their  machinations  seemed  to  prosper,  for  they  had  the 
sympathy  of  many  individual  delegates  in  their  jealousy 
of  Washington.  Even  Samuel  Adams  and  Richard  Henry 


SARATOGA  AND  THE  FRENCH  ALLIANCE  283 


Lee  thought  him  lacking  in  energy,  and  charged  him 
with  favoritism  in  his  appointments. 

Meantime  the  proper  work  of  Congress  was  neglected. 
Their  credit  was  destroyed  in  part  by  the  reverses  of 
the  army,  but  mainly  by  their  tentative  and 
feeble  tone  in  dealing  with  the  States,  and  mone^and 
their  failure  to  assert  and  exercise  the  right  ^ alley  1 01 
of  taxation.  Many  of  the  States  had,  in  their  early  zeal, 
exceeded  their  requisitions  both  of  men  and  money,  and 
now  began  a thrifty  retrenchment  ; Continental  paper, 
with  nothing  behind  it  but  a timid  Congress  with  uncer- 
tain powers,  was  not  worth  half  its  face  A-alue.  For  a time, 
therefore,  there  was  lacking  both  the  will  and  the  way 
even  to  support,  much  less  strengthen,  the  army.  The 
rigors  of  that  winter  were  excessive;  the  soldiers  at  Val- 
ley Forge  had  neither  food  nor  clothing  nor  fuel,  and  the 
fortitude  of  Washington,  his  officers,  and  his  men  in  the 
endurance  of  want,  misery,  and  even  starvation,  is  on 
one  hand  the  evidence  of  their  greatness,  on  the  other  a 
stigma  on  the  good  name  of  the  confederation. 

For  the  country  was  prosperous,  and  that  in  a sense 
not  ordinarily  connected  with  the  notion  of  war.  The 
masterly  strategy  and  tactics  of  Washington  prosperity  o£ 
had  snatched  moral  victory  from  the  jaws  of  the  people, 
actual  defeat,  and  confined  the  theatre  of  operations  to 
a comparatively  small  territory.  Throughout  the  South 
the  rich  crops  of  that  favored  climate  had  year  by  year 
been  safely  gathered  ; in  Pennsylvania  and  New  England 
the  harvests  were  abundant.  For  three  years  past  the 
population  of  the  country  was  not  only  increasing,  but 
pioneers  were  steadily  winning  new  empires  in  the  val- 
leys of  the  Ohio  and  its  tributaries.  The  commerce  of 
Massachusetts  was  restored  to  its  former  dimensions 
and  activity,  bidding  defiance  to  the  repressive  measures 
taken  by  England,  while  at  the  same  time  five  hundred 


284  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

and  fifty  British  ships,  valued  at  twelve  millions  of  dol- 
lars, had  been  captured. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  new  State  governments  were 
working  well.  While  in  themselves  and  as  now  consti- 
tuted they  were  revolutionary,  they  never- 
the  state  guv-  tlieless  inherited  an  administrative  system 
adapted  to  the  wants  and  traditions  of  the 
people,  moulded  in  the  main  on  the  immemorial  cus- 
toms of  Englishmen  on  both  sides  of  the  sea,  but  now 
adapted  in  important  particulars  to  the  circumstances  of 
American  independence.  Congress  at  the  outset  was  an 
extra-legal  body,  created  and  sustained  by  popular  Con- 
tinental opinion.  These  governments  were  its  children, 
dependent  for  any  sovereignty  they  might  ever  acquire 
on  the  success  of  a rebellion  formally  proclaimed,  organ- 
ized, and  sustained  by  Congress.  In  the  event  of  suc- 
cess the  traditions  of  the  individual  colonies  and  the 
habitual  obedience  of  their  respective  populations  to  the 
common  law,  moulded  and  interpreted  by  the  statutory 
enactment  of  each  legislature,  would,  of  course,  secure  a 
partial  internal  sovereignty  ; but  they  never  had,  and  by 
reason  of  the  necessity  for  confederation  to  conduct 
foreign  affairs  and  support  the  army,  never  could  have 
an  independent  external  sovereignty,  however  low  might 
be  the  terms  in  which  they  were  willing  to  express  na- 
tional existence  and  union. 

The  nice  distinctions  of  logic  often  disappear  in  the 

alarums  of  war  and  the  tumult  of  revolution,  sometimes 

waiting  long  to  take  an  awful  revenge  for 
WsEknsf'S  of  a m 

the  confedera-  their  disregard.  Congress  had  neglected  its 

opportunity  to  exercise  the  power  of  the 
purse,  and  such  was  the  obstinacy  of  Delaware  and  Mary- 
land that  the  flimsy  confederacy  existed  only  in  fact  and 
not  de  jure.  The  cry  of  1688  had  been  Liberty  and  Prop- 
erty, and  the  heart  of  the  American  people,  full  of  zeal 


SARATOGA  AND  THE  FRENCH  ALLIANCE  285 


for  the  lessons  of  that  epoch,  was  naturally  also  where  its 
treasure  was.  From  behind  the  barred  doors  of  a wran- 
gling and  divided  Congress  came  no  appeal  directly  to 
their  ears,  and  as  time  went  on  their  patriotic  energies 
and  affections  centred  in  the  State  legislatures!  which 
first  mirrored  popular  opinion  by  treating  Congress  as  a 
convenient  intermediary  for  the  conduct  of  the  war,  and 
in  turn  reflected  the  congressional  temper  by  avoiding 
taxation  through  the  issue  of  paper  money.  The  reflex 
action  upon  Congress  was  disastrous,  and  the  resources 
of  the  nation  were  never  completely  shown  for  lack  of 
prompt  and  direct  action  in  its  administrative  rnachin- 
ery. 

At  the  opening  of  1778  there  was  in  circulation  a 
paper  currency  with  a face  value  of  about  sixty  millions, 
thirty-four  of  these  Continental  and  growing  Ttlg  public  fi. 
worthless,  partly  because  of  the  ever  vaguer  nances, 
powers  of  Congress,  and  partly  because  of  the  better 
security  behind  the  twenty-five  millions  issued  in  various 
sums  by  the  individual  States  in  imitation  of,  but  in 
direct  rivalry  with,  the  others.  There  was  a further  debt 
of  about  five  millions  contracted  by  Congress,  and  so  low 
had  the  national  credit  sunk  that  even  Americans  ac- 
cepted the  paper  with  reluctance  at  half  its  par  value. 
The  real  support  of  the  army  thus  far  had  come  from 
requisitions  on  the  States,  which  had  steadily  furnished 
provisions,  equipments,  and  men,  according  to  the  formal 
terms  of  confederation,  whether  ratified  or  not.  And 
the  army,  with  its  commander- in-chief,  was  now  almost 
the  only  expression  of  union,  even  though  removed  from 
the  people  by  the  intermediaries  of  their  separate  legisla- 
tures and  Congress.  The  troops  had  suffered  a serious 
mortality,  not  on  the  field  of  battle  as  much  as  in  the 
slower  but  equally  sure  processes  of  sickness  induced  by 
the  various  degrees  of  nakedness,  starvation,  and  general 


286  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


privation  which  were  entailed  by  the  absence  of  an  effi- 
cient commissary  department.  And  now  requisitions 
were  uncertain,  because  some  States  were  beginning  to 
husband  their  resources  for  a long  struggle,  while  Con- 
gress was  cherishing  illusory  hopes  of  immediate,  or  at 
least  speedy,  peace,  as  a result  of  the  coming  French  alli- 
ance. 

Throughout  the  year  now  drawing  to  its  close  Frank- 
lin had  been  steadily  and  successfully  moulding  French 
The  news  of  °P^on  to  the  support  of  the  American  cause. 
France8*  in  Vergennes  was  on  one  side  striving  to  convince 
Charles  HI.  and  the  Spanish  court  that  the 
hour  had  come  to  strike  a blow  in  concert  against  their 
mutual  rivals  by  the  open  support  of  her  revolted  colo- 
nies, while  on  the  other  excusing  the  delay  of  France  to 
her  people  and  to  the  American  commissioners  by  the  plea 
of  existing  treaties  and  a general  unreadiness.  At  last, 
in  the  early  winter,  it  became  evident  that  Spain  would 
not  move,  such  was  the  stolid  repugnance  of  both  Charles 
and  his  minister,  Florida  Blanca,  to  support  a successful 
rebellion.  The  news  of  Saratoga  aroused  the  French 
nation  to  an  impatient  enthusiasm,  and  even  the  careful 
and  unimpassioned  minister  himself  believed  that  Howe 
would  be  defeated  and  surrender,  thus  virtually  closing 
the  war  before  France  could  share  in  the  benefits  of  vic- 
tory. 

Two  days  after  the  arrival  of  a courier  announcing 
Burgoyne’s  surrender,  the  formal  negotiations  for  open 
The  compact  alliance  were  begun.  On  December  17th,  a 
of  friendship.  wee].  iater,  Franklin  was  informed  that  the 
king,  moved  by  the  interests  of  France  and  sympathy 
for  the  American  cause,  was  ready  to  recognize  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States.  He  was  immediately  to 
furnish  three  million  livres,  and  Spain  had  promised  a 
like  sum.  The  treaty  Avas  not,  hoAvever,  completed  and 


SARATOGA  AND  THjE)  FRENCH  ALLIANCE  287 

signed  until  February  6th,  1778,  Yergennes  having  been 
notified  two  days  before  of  Spain’s  final  and  definite  re- 
fusal to  become  a party.  According  to  its  terms  there 
was  an  immediate  compact  of  friendship,  to  be  made  pub- 
lic, and  an  eventual  treaty  of  alliauce,  to  be  kept  secret 
for  the  present.  By  the  former  was  assured  a complete 
commercial  reciprocity  between  the  two  countries,  and 
the  United  States  might  grant  like  conditions,  if  they  so 
desirect,  to  other  favored  nations.  The  treaty  of  alliance 
was  to  come  into  force  only  in  the  event  of  a declaration 
by  England  of  war  against  France.  By  it  the  king  guar- 
anteed independence  to  the  United  States  with  sover- 
eignty and  whatever  territory  they  held  at  the  end  of  the 
war.  The  latter  guaranteed  to  France  her  possessions 
in  America.  Neither  of  the  contracting  parties  was  to 
conclude  a peace  without  the  assent  of  the  other.  The 
following  month  England  recalled  her  ambassador,  which 
was  an  informal  declaration  of  war.  Actual  hostilities 
began  three  months  later.  The  following  year  Spain 
permitted  the  interest  of  the  Bourbon  compact  to  out- 
weigh her  distaste  for  American  freedom  and  joined 
France  in  the  alliance. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


RECOGNITION  OF  AMERICAN  INDEPENDENCE— JANUARY- 
JULY,  1778 

National  Sentiment  in  England — The  Rockingham  Whigs — British 
Supremacy  Endangered — Conciliation  as  a Political  Expedient 
— Proposal  to  Yield  Independence— Public  Reception  of  Frank- 
lin at  the  French  Court — Congress  Ratifies  the  Treaty — Collapse 
of  the  Cabal — Reorganization  of  the  Army — Conciliation  Of- 
fered— Failure  of  the  Mission  — The  English  Abandon  Phila- 
delphia— Their  March  Impeded — The  Battle  of  Monmouth — 
Incidents  of  the  Fight — The  Massacre  of  Wyoming. 

The  news  of  Burgoyne’s  surrender  had  produced  a 
positive  and  immediate  effect  in  England.  The  king’s 
friends  and  the  mass  of  the  people  aroused 
sentiment  In  themselves  for  a more  effective  resistance,  and 
England.  the  enlistment  of  Englishmen  became  for  the 
moment  so  much  less  difficult  that  various  cities  were 
able  to  raise  each  a regiment  and  to  put  additional  na- 
tive forces  at  the  disposal  of  the  Government.  The  pre- 
vious year  but  four  thousand  men  could  be  raised,  now 
there  were  as  many  from  Glasgow,  Edinburgh,  Man- 
chester, and  Liverpool  alone,  and  besides  there  were 
others  from  the  Highlands  and  from  various  English 
shires.  The  American  Tories  had  proved  a sorry  re- 
source, less  than  twelve  hundred  having  been  enrolled 
by  Tryon  and  Delancey,  while  the  untrustworthiness  of 
Indians  had  been  conclusively  proven  in  the  northern 
campaign.  Moreover,  the  attention  of  the  world  had 
been  finally  drawn  to  the  infamy  of  the  traffic  in  German 


RECOGNITION  OF  AMERICAN  INDEPENDENCE  289 

troops,  as  the  meanness  and  greed  of  the  sellers  were  re- 
vealed in  their  manipulation  of  the  market.  Mirabeau 
finally  began  an  agitation  so  spirited  that  the  Landgrave 
of  Hesse  felt  it  necessary  to  make  a reply.  It  was  need- 
ful, therefore,  for  the  continuance  of  the  struggle  that  a 
truly  national  sentiment  should  be  aroused,  and  Saratoga 
had  that  effect. 

The  Rockingham  Whigs  had  lost  their  hold  in  politics 
largely  because  of  their  open  sympathy  with  the  Ameri- 
cans, believing  as  they  did  that  the  cause  of  The  RockIng_ 
liberty  in  England  was  identified  with  the  ham  wings, 
success  of  their  struggle.  Fox  and  Burke,  Richmond 
and  Chatham,  wielded  the  weapons  of  rhetoric,  sarcasm, 
and  downright  attack  as  they  have  seldom  been  used  in 
Parliament.  Subscriptions  for  the  ill-treated  Americans 
held  by  the  English  as  prisoners  of  war  were  opened 
and  numerously  signed.  The  liberals  in  general  felt 
that  Burgoyne’s  defeat  should  mean  their  triumph.  In 
spite  of  the  national  uprising  they  would  probably  have 
won  in  the  end,  for  North,  and  with  him  many  who  were 
not  Whigs,  was  convinced  of  the  necessity  for  peace. 

But  the  French  alliance  determined  the  complete  sep- 
aration of  America  from  England.  As  yet  the  contract 
of  friendship  and  commerce  was  the  only  part 

■tn  -r-r-r  f J x British  su- 

known.  George  HI.,  firm  m Ins  purpose  to  premacy  co- 
re due  e the  colonies  at  any  cost  of  men  and  d;mgtrcd' 
money,  stifled  for  a time  the  convictions  of  his  devoted 
and  too  complacent  minister  by  appeals  to  personal  de- 
votion and  a sense  of  honor,  dreaming  still  of  an  alliance 
with  Catherine  H,  who  cared  nothing  for  western  affairs 
and  was  reserving  all  her  force  to  found  a Christian  em- 
pire on  the  Bosporus.  The  news  of  the  French  attitude 
suddenly  and  completely  changed  the  aspect  of  English 
politics.  A general  European  war  was  not  only  possible 
but  actually  looming  on  the  horizon.  The  Whigs  saw 
19 


290  THE  FRENCH  AVAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


their  opportunity,  for  the  old  alliance  of  England  with 
the  Protestant  powers  of  Germany  against  the  Bourbons 
could  alone  secure  her  against  the  loss  of  the  position 
she  had  so  proudly  asserted  in  the  Seven  Years’  War. 
Chatham  had  already  explained  again  and  again  that  the 
united  colonies  could  never  be  conquered,  had  inveighed 
against  the  use  of  “the  horrible  hell-hounds  of  savage 
war,”  and  in  one  splendid  burst  had  declared,  “If  I were 
an  American,  as  I am  an  Englishman,  while  a foreign 
troop  was  landed  in  my  country  I never  would  lay 
down  my  arms:  never,  never,  never.”  He  had  long  con- 
templated a change  of  ministry  and  the  conciliation  of 
America,  noAv  the  rupture  of  diplomatic  relations  and 
probable  war  with  France  might  secure  both  and  restore 
the  union  of  the  English  empire.  The  national  senti- 
ment against  America  was  infinitely  weaker  than  the  im- 
memorial and  traditional  hatred  of  the  Bourbons.  Con- 
ciliation forthwith  became  the  national  policy,  and  no 
ministry  could  withstand  the  demand  for  it. 

It  was  therefore  as  a political  expedient  and  from  no 
sense  of  justice  that  the  king  permitted  North  to  follow 

„ ...  ..  at  last  what  he  declared  had  alwavs  been  his 

Conciliation 

as  a political  convictions,  and  pass  through  Parliament  a 

expedient.  . ..•*■  ° . 

senes  of  conciliatory  bills  granting  everything 
which  the  States  had  at  first  demanded,  abolishing  the 
tax  on  tea,  and  repealing  the  bill  for  governing  Massa- 
chusetts. Plenipotentiaries  were  to  be  sent  for  the  con- 
duct of  negotiations.  When  in  April  these  steps  were 
completed,  North,  feeling  perhaps  the  inconsistencies  of 
his  career,  would  have  gladly  made  way  for  the  Whigs, 
who  were  clearly  entitled  to  carry  out  their  own  policy. 
But  George  HI.  would  listen  to  no  such  proposition,  and 
the  heterogeneous  ministry  was  continued  in  power  by 
the  support  of  the  crown  and  by  a majority  of  mem- 
bers representing  no  principle  except  parliamentary 


RECOGNITION  OF  AMERICAN  INDEPENDENCE  291 


supremacy,  which  they  had  virtually  confessed  to  be  a 
tyranny  when  applied  to  unrepresented  people.  The 
very  principle  which  had  established  English  liberties 
must  undermine  those  of  America  when,  as  now,  the 
crown  was  able  to  create  a parliamentary  majority  by 
patronage,  and  by  political  chicane  use  it  as  a tool. 

Languor,  doubt,  and  irresolution  were  shown  to  such 

an  extent  in  the  execution  of  the  conciliatory  measures 

that  if  the  king  and  cabinet  had  intended  to  „ , 

thwart  the  popular  will  they  could  not  well  yield  inde- 
x ^ . pendence. 

nave  acted  otherwise  than  they  did.  Their 
language,  unlike  that  of  the  bills,  was  harsh  and  often 
opprobrious,  while  the  choice  of  members  for  the  diplo- 
matic commission  tvas  little  less  than  an  insult.  The 
second  portion  of  the  treaty  between  America  and  France 
could  not,  of  course,  be  long  concealed.  Rockingham 
would  have  broken  the  alliance  by  conceding  indepen- 
dence, but  Chatham  made  his  last  and  most  sadly  dra- 
matic appearance  in  Parliament,  on  April  7th,  to  de- 
nounce it  and  to  rouse  his  country  to  the  horrors  of 
dismemberment.  He  died  the  next  month,  and  George 
was  finally  emancipated  from  the  restraint  he  always  felt 
under  the  eye  of  his  greatest  subject. 

Such  was  the  urgency  of  the  crisis  that  in  spite  of 
pride,  in  the  face  of  consistency,  and  without  the  popular 
warrant,  an  emissary  was  sent  by  the  ministry  Public  re- 
to  open  negotiations  with  the  American  com-  Franklin0  a t 
mission  in  Paris,  on  the  basis  of  a virtual  in-  court  rench 
dependence,  limited  only  by  commercial  preference  over 
other  lands  for  the  mother-country.  It  was  too  late. 
Franklin  and  his  colleagues  had  been  publicly  received 
in  formal  audience  on  March  20th,  amid  the  plaudits 
of  the  nation.  Malesherbes  had  remarked  that  Franklin 
was  a printer  and  the  son  of  a tallow-chandler.  The 
throne,  the  aristocracy,  the  burgesses,  and  the  laboring 


292  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


classes  all  knew  it,  but  for  various  reasons  he  was  the 
idol  of  all  except  the  first.  The  moral  effect  of  such  a 
deification  on  the  conditions  of  French  society,  with  its 
revolutionary  theories  and  its  ideals  of  individual  worth 
and  personal  liberty,  was  incalculable.  The  king  him- 
self did  not  deeply  disguise  his  distaste  for  the  policy 
forced  upon  him  ; but  the  queen’s  sympathy,  though  per- 
haps shallow,  was  nevertheless  hearty,  and  the  cause  was 
not  only  popular  but  fashionable. 

This  sufficient  recognition  of  sovereignty  exhilarated 

the  advocates  of  independence  in  America.  On  April 

Congress  2'2d  Congress,  using  language  almost  identical 

ratifies  the  with  that  of  the  previous  November,  resolved 
treaty.  x 

not  to  treat  with  English  commissioners  “un- 
less they  shall  either  withch’aw  their  fleets  and  armies  or 
in  positive  and  express  terms  acknowledge  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  States.”  France  had  already  fitted  out  two 
fleets,  one  at  Brest,  to  engage  the  English  fleet  in  Euro- 
pean waters,  the  other  at  Toulon,  which  sailed  for 
America  under  D’Estaing  on  April  17th,  but  owing  to 
adverse  winds  and  accidents  did  not  reach  Delaware  Bay 
until  the  beginning  of  July,  two  weeks  after  Howe’s  fleet 
had  left  it.  On  May  4th  Congress  ratified  both  portions 
of  the  French  treaty,  and  addressed  the  country  as  if  in- 
dependence were  already  secured.  The  people  grew  in 
turn  as  enthusiastic  for  France  as  the  French  were  for 
them,  and  in  much  the  same  passionate  sentimental  way. 
Lafayette  became,  and  has  remained,  the  idol  of  the 
United  States.  The  international  sympathy,  though 
tried  by  time,  by  differences  of  interest,  and  the  widest 
divergence  in  religious  and  political  institutions,  con- 
tinues firm  and  strong,  the  more  so  that  the  French 
Revolution,  consequent  to  the  success  of  our  own,  and 
measurably  produced  by  it,  has  finally,  purged  of  all  dis- 
tasteful excesses,  resulted  in  a firm  and  tolerant  republic. 


RECOGNITION  OP  AMERICAN  INDEPENDENCE  293 


The  cabal  formed  in  the  early  winter  against  "Washing- 
ton collapsed  almost  as  soon  as  its  schemes  became  pub- 
lic. The  people  became  stronger  in  his  sup-  Co  ]apse  of 
port  as  they  learned  how  dark  and  ruinous  the  cabal- 
had  been  the  conspiracy  against  him.  Congress,  too, 
repented,  and,  yielding  to  the  force  of  public  opinion, 
roused  itself  to  energetic  though  spasmodic  action. 
Conway  was  made  commander  in  the  North,  but  com- 
plained of  his  exile  and  resigned.  He  had  been  accused 
by  Cadwalader  of  cowardice  in  the  battle  on  the  Bran- 
dywine. Wounded  in  a duel  with  that  officer,  he  wrote 
a servile  apology  to  Washington  and  sailed  for  France, 
whence  he  never  returned.  Mifflin  and  Gates  were  com- 
pelled to  silence,  and  remained  to  display,  the  former 
his  better  side,  the  latter  his  true  character,  in  the  sub- 
sequent stages  of  the  war.  Lee  was  soon  to  be  utterly 
discredited. 

A congressional  committee,  moreover,  set  out  for 
Valley  Forge,  where  the  remnant  of  Washington’s  army 
had  spent  the  awful  winter,  and  had  some- 
times under  the  lash  of  dreadful  suffering  tion^i^the 
had  recourse,  for  the  bai’est  support  of  life,  to  Almy' 
marauding  and  other  doubtful  courses.  Steuben,  once 
aide-de-camp  to  Frederick  the  Great,  joined  the  army 
toward  the  end  of  February,  and  in  May  was  appointed 
inspector-general  in  place  of  Conway.  His  fine  system 
of  tactics  and  drill  was  at  once  introduced,  new  troops 
were  called  in,  and  the  new  spirit  of  organization  re- 
stored courage  and  efficiency  in  the  army.  Most  of  the 
French  officers,  chilled  by  the  coolness  with  which  their 
extravagant  expectations  were  met,  had  returned  home  at 
the  expense  of  Congress,  but  Lafayette  and  a few  of  the 
choicest,  some  ten  in  all,  remained.  They  were  given 
rank  and  employment.  Pulaski  also  was  put  in  a cavalry 
command,  and  Kosciusko  was  appointed  to  fortify  West 


294  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


Point.  Greene  was  most  efficient  as  head  of  the  com- 
missary department.  The  terrible  blunder  of  retaliation 
in  barbarity  was  made  by  the  enlistment  in  Virginia  and 
the  Carolinas  of  two  hundred  Indians  to  serve  under 
Nathaniel  Gist. 

The  first  knowledge  of  North’s  conciliatory  measures 
had  come  to  America  through  New  York.  The  frag- 
Conci  nation  meQts  which  reached  Congress  caused  some 

offered.  anxiety  lest  the  people  might  be  recalled  to 
their  old  allegiance  by  such  sweeping  and  unexpected 
concession.  But  nothing  definite  or  authoritative  was 
known  until  after  the  ratification  of  the  French  treaty. 
On  June  6th  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who  had  been  appointed 
to  succeed  Howe  as  commander-in-chief,  formally  com- 
municated to  Congress  the  official  text  of  the  bills.  The 
same  day  the  three  commissioners  arrived.  Of  the  three 
— Carlisle,  Eden,  and  Johnstone — not  one  w7as  a friend 
of  the  American  cause,  and  two  at  least  had  been  its  most 
abusive  enemies.  But  such  was  the  character  of  their 
embassy  that  they  never  doubted  of  success,  forgetting 
how  delay,  tyranny,  and  opprobrium  had  settled  the 
conviction  of  the  American  leaders  that  English  lib- 
erties could  only  find  their  full  development  this  side 
the  sea  under  a new  government  with  perfect  sover- 
eignty. 

On  June  17th  Congress  formally  refused  conciliation 
unless  accompanied  by  the  acknowledgment  of  indepen- 
Faiiure  of  the  dence  and  the  cessation  of  the  war.  The  com- 

miesion.  missioners  replied  in  two  letters  of  July  2d 
and  18th.  These  were  purposely  relegated  to  the  limbo 
of  a routine  which  made  no  answer  to  their  unauthor- 
ized proffer  of  independence  in  everything  except  foreign 
affairs,  and  did  not  even  directly  communicate  to  the 
writers  a resolution  declaring  their  mission  of  no  effect. 
The  offers  were  three  years  behind  the  time  ; they  might 


RECOGNITION  OF  AMERICAN  INDEPENDENCE  295 


be  nothing  but  a move  in  the  game  which  the  king  and 
his  ministers  were  playing  to  deceive  the  House  of  Com- 
mons. The  Ai’ticles  of  Confederation  were  signed  by 
ten  States  in  the  interval.  In  August  Eeed  informed 
Congress  of  an  attempt  by  Johnstone  to  bribe  him,  and 
finally  the  resolution  was  taken  to  break  off  all  communi- 
cations with  an  embassy  which  counted  Johnstone  as  one 
of  its  members.  It  appears  to  be  a fact  that  the  patriotic 
leaders,  fearing  the  effect  of  these  efforts  on  a people 
tired  of  the  sacrifices  entailed  by  war  and  encouraged  by 
the  suggestions  of  Gerard  de  Rayneval,  the  first  French 
minister  to  the  United  States,  adopted  a course  delib- 
erately intended  to  turn  the  whole  affair  into  ridicule. 
Their  success  was  due  to  the  unfortunate  antecedents 
of  the  commissioners  and  the  personal  character  of  one 
of  them.  Gates  was  the  only  American  officer  willing 
to  meet  them  in  conference.  Washington  and  the  active 
patriots  of  the  country  were  with  Congress.  The  real 
temper  of  the  commissioners  was  shown  in  a proclama- 
tion issued  just  before  their  departure  in  October,  de- 
claring the  alliance  of  Protestant  colonies  with  Rom- 
ish France  to  be  monstrous  ; that  the  real  interest  of 
America  was  sacrificed  to  the  ambitions  of  a few  ; that 
if  the  colonies  did  not  submit  within  forty  days  the 
sole  object  of  the  war  would  be  to  devastate  the  coun- 
try. 

Germain  was  aware  of  D’Estaing’s  departure  and  of 
his  destination.  He  therefore  ordered  a concentration 
of  the  English  forces  in  New  York,  and  Phil- 
adelphia was  evacuated  on  June  17,  1778.  abandon  fhfi- 
Clin ton’s  plan  was  to  cross  New  Jersey  to  adelplua- 
Sandy  Hook,  where  the  fleet  was  to  meet  him  and  assure 
the  easy  transport  of  his  forces  by  water  to  the  city. 
The  effective  force  with  which  he  crossed  the  Delaware 
has  been  variously  estimated  at  from  twelve  to  seventeen 


296  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

thousand.  Three  thousand  loyalists  had  been  embarked 
to  proceed  with  the  fleet  by  sea,  but  there  was,  neverthe- 
less, an  army  of  camp-followers  hying  before  the  expect- 
ed vengeance  of  the  Americans  when  they  should  return, 
and  a baggage-train  some  twelve  miles  long. 

Washington  at  once  moved  from  Valley  Forge,  entered 
New  Jersey  sixteen  miles  above  Trenton  with  nearly  ten 
Thsir  march  thousand  men,  and  pressed  on  to  Hopewell. 

impeded.  Lee  had  noisily  asserted  throughout  the  win- 
ter that  whatever  the  English  did  they  would  not  aban- 
don Pennsylvania  ; he  was  now  quite  as  confident  that 
the  Continental  forces  should  not  risk  a pitched  battle 
but  harass  the  enemy  on  his  march.  Washington,  sup- 
ported by  Greene,  Wayne,  Cadwalader,  and  Lafayette, 
was  determined  to  the  contrary,  and  sent  out  a body  of 
fifteen  hundred  to  act  in  union  with  the  New  Jersey 
militia,  who  were  working  wonders  in  creating  obstacles 
to  Clinton’s  advance.  The  bridges  were  burned,  the 
wells  choked,  and  a harassing  skirmish  constantly  main- 
tained on  the  enemy’s  left. 

The  English  baggage-train  was  so  cumbersome  that 
they  could  not  hope  to  cross  the  Raritan  unmolested, 
The  battle  of  and  the  army,  therefore,  swerved  eastward, 
Monmouth,  arriving  at  Freehold,  the  chief  town  of  Mon- 
mouth County,  on  June  26th.  The  Americans  reached 
Cranberry  on  the  same  day,  and  the  order  was  issued  to 
Lee,  three  miles  in  advance,  to  prepare  a plan  of  attack, 
but  he  refused.  The  heat  was  excessive,  and  the  next 
day  being  rainy  as  well,  both  armies  rested ; but  Wash- 
ington peremptorily  ordered  Lee  to  throw  out  six  to 
eight  hundred  skirmishers.  The  morning  of  the  twenty- 
eighth  was  clear,  though  the  heat  was  still  intense.  The 
English  moved,  but  the  commander’s  order  to  Lee  was 
so  reluctantly  and  slowly  obeyed  as  to  be  ineffective. 
The  attack  was  begun  by  Dickinson,  of  New  Jersey,  with 


RECOGNITION  OF  AMERICAN  INDEPENDENCE  297 

his  militia,  Lee  being  absent  on  the  right,  striving,  as 
he  claimed,  to  draw  off  the  rear-guard  of  the  enemy,  en- 
tangle it  in  ravines,  and  so  destroy  it.  But  his  strategy 
was  futile  and  his  men  were  disheartened,  for  Clinton 
sent  Knyphausen  forward  with  the  baggage  and  rein- 
forced his  rear.  It  was  an  inexplicable  obstinacy  with 
which  Lee  refused  to  attack  and  continued  his  march- 
ings and  crossings ; finally  he  began  to  retreat  with  his 
two  brigades,  explaining  to  Lafayette  that  he  could  not 
stand  against  forces  so  superior.  Lafayette  sent  for  the 
commander-in-chief,  who  arrived  to  find  the  retreat  in  full 
progress.  With  a few  sharp  and  awful  words  Washing- 
ton changed  the  direction  of  the  troops.  Wayne’s  regi- 
ments were  quickly  formed  in  a ravine  under  the  hot 
fire  of  the  British,  and  their  advance  was  successfully 
checked  until  the  remaining  American  force  could  be 
drawn  up  on  high  ground.  The  English  fell  back,  but 
reformed  in  a strong  defensible  position  ; the  Americans 
encamped  on  the  battle-field. 

The  battle  of  Monmouth  was  the  last  general  engage- 
ment on  northern  soil,  but  it  was  one  of  the  most  terri- 
ble. The  thermometer  registered  96°  Fahr.  incidents  of 
in  the  shade,  and  under  the  relentless  rays  of  the  fighti 
the  sun  many  men  on  both  sides  fell  dead  from  their  ex- 
ertions without  a wound.  The  Americans  lost  in  killed 
and  wounded  two  hundred  and  thirty,  the  English  four 
hundred.  The  desperate  determination  in  the  fighting 
was  illustrated  in  the  conduct  of  Moll  Pitcher,  wife  of  a 
Continental  artilleryman,  who  aided  her  husband  in  the 
thickest  of  the  fight,  and  when  he  fell  promptly  took  his 
place  in  serving  the  gun.  Seven  hundred  negroes  fought 
with  their  white  fellow-citizens  on  that  memorable  day. 
The  result  was  a victory  for  neither  side,  but  Clinton 
withdrew  at  midnight  and  Washington  did  not  follow 
but  marched  away  to  his  old  position  of  advantage  be- 


298  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


hind  the  Hudson  Kiver.  He  earned  anew  the  affections 
and  respect  of  the  country  by  the  sturdy  blow,  and 
Wayne’s  conduct  was  so  splendid  that  he  became  a pop- 
ular hero.  Lee  was  court-martialed  for  his  behavior, 
found  guilty  of  insubordination,  and  suspended  for  a 
year.  He  wras  afterward  dismissed  for  an  impertinent 
letter  to  Congress,  and  retired  to  private  life  in  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  died  in  1782.  The  depth  of  his  faith- 
lessness was  unknown  until  1857,  when  the  publication 
of  the  Howe  papers  proved  him  to  have  been  an  arch- 
traitor. 

A week  after  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  on  July  3d, 
occurred  the  massacre  of  Wyoming,  the  name  by  which 
m the  upper  valley  of  the  Susquehanna,  in 

ere  of  Wyom-  Pennsylvania,  was  and  still  is  known  for 
some  twenty  miles.  Under  the  charter 
granted  by  Charles  H.,  Connecticut  had  claimed  the  dis- 
trict, and  it  had  been  settled  by  a colony  of  her  thrifty 
inhabitants.  The  great  tribe  of  Seneca  Indians  were 
still  smarting  under  a sense  of  the  wrongs  which  they 
believed  themselves  to  have  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the 
French,  who  were  now  allies  of  the  Americans,  and  it  was 
not  difficult  for  an  English  emissary  to  induce  them  to 
take  revenge  on  the  defenceless  settlers  who  were,  more- 
over, invading  the  wilderness.  An  expedition  for  the 
purpose  was  organized.  There  were  about  seven  hun- 
dred men,  the  large  majority  Indians,  but  a considerable 
minority  rangers.  The  settlement  was  taken  by  sur- 
prise, the  villages  and  stockades  burnt,  twTo  hundred  and 
fifty  persons  scalped,  and  the  remainder  put  to  flight  or 
shot.  The  leaders  of  the  murderous  band  reported  to 
Germain  a loss  of  two  whites  and  eight  Indians,  stating 
that  they  had  burned  all  the  mills  and  a thousand  build- 
ings. The  community'  of  Wyoming  was  thus  annihi- 
lated : the  ministry  not  only  commended  the  exploit,  but 


RECOGNITION  OF  AMERICAN  INDEPENDENCE  299 

proposed  others  of  a similar  nature.  There  were  humane 
men  in  England  to  stigmatize  such  barbarity  as  it  de- 
served, but  the  policy  which  led  to  it  was  not  abandoned, 
and  it  is  easy  to  conceive  how  strong  became  the  Ameri- 
can determination  to  be  rid  of  such  savagery. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


EVIL  EFFECTS  OF  THE  FOREIGN  ALLIANCE— 1778-1779 

Arnold  at  Philadelphia — The  Government  Returns — D’Estaing’s 
Failures — The  Expedition  Against  Newport — Situation  at  the 
North — Humiliation  of  the  Confederacy — Straits  of  the  Eng- 
lish Ministry — Ambitions  and  Fears  of  Spain — Spain  Joins  the 
Alliance — Western  Settlement — Clark’s  Expedition — Louisiana 
and  Florida  Lost  to  England — France  Expects  Peace — Move- 
ments of  Clinton — Stony  Point — Sullivan’s  Campaign  Against 
the  Iroquois — The  Fiasco  of  Castine — The  Exploits  of  Paul 
Jones. 

Newport  and  the  island  on  which  it  stands,  New  York, 
Ogdensburgh,  Niagara,  and  Detroit  were  the  only  points 
Arnold  at  now  held  by  the  English.  Arnold  was  sent 
Philadelphia.  command  the  recovered  city  of  Philadel- 
phia. The  traditions  of  English  occupation,  with  its  lux- 
ury and  riot,  combined  with  his  own  inclination,  led  him 
to  assume  an  extravagant  style  in  living.  His  manners 
were  marked  by  a childish  air  of  self-importance,  and 
before  long  it  was  rumored  that  his  money  transactions 
were  irregular.  It  must  be  confessed  that  the  conduct 
of  many  among  the  returning  "Whigs  was  far  from  admi- 
rable. In  a spirit  of  retaliation  several  Tories  were  seized 
in  New  Jersey,  tided,  and  sentenced  to  be  hung.  But 
Livingston,  the  Governor,  pardoned  them  all.  In  Phila- 
delphia, however,  two  were  hung. 

The  supreme  executive  council  of  Congress  promptly 
returned  to  that  city  and  resumed  its  sittings,  while 
other  members  followed  in  little  groups  and  slowly. 


EVIL  EFFECTS  OF  THE  FOKEIGN  ALLIANCE  301 


There  was  a plan  to  secure  for  the  Government  the  de- 
serted property  of  the  loyalists,  bnt  it  was  utterly  thwart- 
ed by  private  scheming  and  greed.  In  the  de-  The  govem. 
preciation  of  the  Continental  currency  specu-  ment  returns- 
lation  ran  wild,  the  sober  supporters  of  Congress  could 
make  no  headway  against  the  wild  gayeties  of  the  com- 
mander and  his  set.  Finally,  there  were  two  passionate 
factions,  Arnold  was  court-martialled,  convicted  of  seri- 
ous indiscretion,  and  sentenced  to  a reprimand.  His 
proud  temper  could  ill  brook  such  humiliation,  and  the 
circumstances  probably  made  him  receptive  to  the  sug- 
gestion of  treason. 

D’Estaing’s  career  seemed  doomed  to  futility  from 
the  outset.  Had  he  reached  the  Delaware  earlier  he 
might  have  beaten  Howe,  and  consequently,  D’Estaing’s 
Clinton,  finding  no  transports  at  Sandy  Hook,  failures, 
would  probably  have  been  compelled  to  capitulate. 
There  was  to  be  another  fiasco.  Finding  the  English 
gone,  the  French  admiral  promptly  sailed  for  New 
York,  where  he  was  to  co-operate  with  Washington,  who 
had  moved  to  White  Plains,  for  a combined  attack  by 
land  and  sea,  but  he  could  find  no  pilots  to  cany  his 
ships  into  the  bay  and  bring  them  to  a position  suitable 
for  attack.  Washington  then  proposed  an  expedition 
against  Newport.  Sullivan,  with  two  divisions  under 
Lafayette  and  Greene,  was  to  lead  into  the  island  this 
force  of  regular  Continentals  and  as  many  militia  as  he 
could  get  together  from  the  neighborhood  and  attack 
by  land,  simultaneously  with  a bombardment  from 
D’Estaing’s  ships.  It  was  hoped  that  the  entire  garri- 
son of  six  thousand  would  be  compelled  to  surrender. 

The  land  force  was  promptly  organized  and  ready  in 
due  season,  but  again,  as  in  crossing  the  ocean,  there 
were  unnecessary  delays  in  the  movement  of  the  French 
fleet.  It  was  August  8th  when  D’Estaing  forced  an  en- 


302  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


trance  to  Newport  harbor.  But  this  time  the  English 

had  shown  capacity  and  speed.  Clinton  was  marching 

The  expedi  rapidly  with  four  thousand  troops  to  the 

tion  against  relief  of  the  city,  and  Howe’s  fleet  had  fol- 
Newport.  ^ 

lowed  so  promptly  as  to  be  already  in  sight 

of  the  tardy  French  ; D’Estaing  turned  and  sought  the 
open  sea  for  a decisive  engagement.  But  a violent 
storm  arose  and  scattered  both  fleets.  It  even  disabled 
the  Americans  on  shore,  who  were  under  canvas,  but  left 
the  English  in  the  town  unharmed.  Sullivan  was  able, 
however,  to  retreat  from  the  island  without  serious  loss. 
The  French  admiral  gathered  his  ships  to  relit  in  Bos- 
ton, but  he  was  coldly  received,  and  his  name  was  un- 
justly execrated  throughout  New  England.  Howe  re- 
turned to  New  York  and  relinquished  his  command  to 
Admiral  Byron. 

The  situation  in  the  North,  as  it  then  was,  remained 
substantially  unchanged  to  the  end  of  the  war.  It  is 
situation  at  perfectly  expressed  in  words  written  at  the 

the  North,  time  by  Washington:  “After  two  years’ 
manoeuvring  and  the  strangest  vicissitudes  both  ar- 
mies are  brought  back  to  the  very  point  they  set  out 
from,  and  the  offending  party  at  the  beginning  is  re- 
duced to  the  use  of  the  spade  and  pickaxe  for  defence. 
The  hand  of  Providence  has  been  so  conspicuous  in  all 
this  that  he  must  be  worse  than  an  infidel  that  lacks 
faith,  and  more  than  wicked  that  has  not  gratitude  to 
acknowledge  his  obligations.”  The  real  weakness  of 
America  was  in  her  own  folly,  or  rather  mania,  concern- 
ing taxation,  and  in  the  preference  by  her  leaders  of 
local  interests  to  the  Continental  welfare. 

The  campaign  of  1778  came  to  a premature  close  for 
lack  of  money.  Congress  had  neither  the  inclination 
nor  the^  courage  to  ask  or  assume  authority  to  lay 
taxes  ; the  States  were  busy  with  their  own  promis- 


EVIL  EFFECTS  OF  THE  FOREIGN  ALLIANCE  303 


sory  notes,  the  country  was  flooded  with  English  counter- 
feits of  Continental  currency,  and  the  obligations  of  the 
union  were  growing  more  and  more  worth-  Humiliation 
less.  Throughout  the  summer  the  operations  of  the  coDfed- 

x eracy. 

of  agriculture  had  been  unchecked  by  the 
presence  of  an  enemy,  and  by  the  end  of  October  the 
country  had  garnered  another  rich  harvest  without 
molestation.  But  such  was  the  moral  imbecility  pro- 
duced by  a now  rampant  separatism  that  Congress  con- 
fessed to  France  that  their  only  hope  was  in  foreign 
loans,  and  with  words  which  in  the  perspective  of  history 
sound  pusillanimous  asked  for  the  “ protection  ” of  the 
king.  They  also  addressed  the  country  in  language 
which  showed  a disintegration  of  force,  using  “ inhabi- 
tants ” where  they  had  previously  used  “people.”  It 
was  about  this  time  that  common  usage  began  to  substi- 
tute for  the  term  United  States  the  significant  one  of 
Confederated  States.  Even  at  Valley  Forge,  Washington, 
in  the  height  of  his  restored  influence  and  once  again 
in  possession  of  extraordinary  powers  which  made  him 
a virtual  dictator  for  four  months,  had  pleaded  in  vain 
for  long  enlistments.  Congress  displayed  the  bugbear  of 
a standing  army  and  persisted  in  the  plan  of  annual  drafts. 

Germain  hoped  that  the  American  cause  would  event- 
ually fail  by  financial  mismanagement  ; but  meanwhile 
the  ministry  was  desperate.  There  were  g . of 
thirty-three  thousand  English  and  German  1 h e English 

**  ° . miDistry. 

troops  in  the  rebellious  colonies,  supported 
by  an  expensive  fleet,  and  there  w7as  virtually  nothing  to 
show  for  all  these  exertions  except  New  York  and  New- 
port. The  temporary  enthusiasm  of  the  nation  had 
subsided  and  enlistments  had  come  to  a stop,  the  Ger- 
mans in  America  deserted  w’ith  alacrity,  and  the  national 
debt  was  increasing  with  alarming  and  startling  rapid- 
ity. The  really  great  public  men  of  the  nation  were 


304  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


constantly  expressing  regret  at  the  continuance  of  the 
war,  their  admiration  for  the  American  leaders  was  not 
concealed,  and  a readiness  to  yield  American  indepen- 
dence began  to  permeate  all  classes.  Burke  denounced 
the  latest  manifesto  of  the  parliamentary  commissioners 
to  the  Americans  as  a “ dreadful  menace,”  and  Rocking- 
ham pronounced  it  “ accursed,”  for  since  the  coming  of 
Christ  war  had  not  been  conducted  on  such  inhuman  ideas. 

Spain  found  herself  in  a serious  crisis.  The  secondary 
role  she  was  playing  under  the  Family  Compact  was  hu- 
Ambiti  o n ^bating  5 but  worse  than  that,  her  colonial 
and  fears  of  system  in  South  and  North  America  was  jeop- 
bpam‘  ardized.  This  was  due  to  three  causes  - first, 

the  slackness  of  administration  at  Madrid  ; second,  the 
enmity  of  the  Jesuits,  to  whose  missionary  zeal  so  much 
was  due  ; and  third,  to  the  temper  of  the  age.  Her  vast 
possessions  included  the  greater  portion  of  the  western 
hemisphere,  for  even  in  North  America  she  claimed  and 
hoped  to  secure  a share  of  the  great  territory  east  of  the 
Mississippi  as  far  as  the  Alleghenies,  while  everything 
west  of  that  river  belonged  to  her  ; the  great  mercantile 
nations  were  thirsting  for  the  beneficent  settlement  of 
territories  so  rich,  but  closed  as  yet  to  commerce  and 
the  use  of  man.  If  the  English  colonies  should  secure 
their  independence,  the  infection  of  liberty  would  cer- 
tainly spread  in  the  northern  continent.  Florida  Blanca, 
therefore,  would  have  made  the  erection  of  a Chinese  wall 
of  separation  by  a sharp  delimitation  of  boundaries  a con- 
dition of  the  Bourbon  alliance  against  Great  Britain. 

An  indecisive  engagement  in  July,  1778,  between  the 
Channel  fleets  of  France  and  England  opened  hostilities, 
Spain  joins  further  delay  was  impossible.  Spain  twice 
the  alliance,  offered  mediation  and  a settlement  of  boun- 
daries, but  the  English  ministry  declined  with  amused 
disdain.  At  this  juncture  Congress  took  the  wise  step 


EVIL  EFFECTS  OF  THE  FOREIGN  ALLIANCE  3(>5 


of  dissolving  her  diplomatic  commission  in  Paris  and 
appointing  Franklin  sole  plenipotentiary.  Yergennes 
had  confidence  in  him,  but  using  the  incertitude  and 
slowness  of  the  American  government  as  an  argument 
that  they  never  could  be  an  aggressive  power,  he  con- 
vinced both  himself  and  the  Spanish  minister  that  the 
western  frontier  of  the  United  States  would  in  any  event 
be  the  Alleghenies.  At  last,  by  an  agreement  to  restore 
Gibraltar,  Minorca,  and  Pensacola,  with  the  Florida  coast, 
likewise  to  expel  the  English  from  Honduras  and  Cam- 
peachy,  the  end  which  seemed  so  essential  to  Yergennes 
was  gained.  Spain  signed  the  treaty  on  April  12th,  1779, 
and  declared  war  in  June.  On  the  twenty-fifth  a fleet 
sailed  from  Cadiz  to  join  that  of  the  French. 

This  new  alliance,  according  to  international  law,  re- 
leased Congress  from  its  promise  not  to  make  peace 
without  France.  But  events  were  happening  Western  set. 
in  the  Western  wilderness  destined  in  the  end  tiement. 
to  prevent  the  disintegration  of  the  union,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  thwart  the  plans  of  the  Bourbon  powers. 
The  possession  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  in  its  integrity 
has  been  from  the  beginning  the  assurance  and  the 
cement  of  union.  The  men  who  won  it  and  occupied  it 
have  been  in  a high  sense  the  makers  of  the  United 
States.  As  early  as  1776  the  pioneers  in  and  about  Har- 
rodsburgh  had  chosen  delegates  to  the  Virginia  Assem- 
bly, and  after  the  declaration  of  independence  the  dis- 
trict was  recognized  as  the  County  of  Kentucky.  One 
of  the  first  representatives  was  Clark,  who,  after  consul- 
tation with  Thomas  Jefferson,  Patrick  Henry,  and  others, 
spent  the  year  in  securing  authorization  and  supplies  for 
an  expedition  into  the  interior.  His  plans  were  at  length 
perfected,  and  with  a sufficient  sum  of  money  he  returned 
home  in  January,  1778,  to  begin  the  organization  and  out- 
fitting of  his  men.  By  June  26th  all  was  in  readiness ; 

20 


306  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


five  companies  of  about  forty  each  were  embarked  on 
the  river,  and  on  July  4th  they  reached  their  goal,  the 
ancient  settlement  of  Ivaskaskia,  not  far  from  the  Missis- 
sippi, on  a tributary  of  the  same  name. 

The  place  had  been  an  English  post,  but  in  1775  Carle- 
ton  withdrew  the  garrison  to  strengthen  that  of  Detroit, 
Clark’s  ex  pc-  relying  on  the  soldiers  at  Vincennes  and  the 

dition.  Indian  parties  which  were  constantly  moving 
backward  and  forward  to  hold  the  frontier.  The  Ameri- 
cans took  possession  without  a blow,  the  French  inhab- 
itants willingly  swore  allegiance  to  the  United  States, 
and  established  the  County  of  Illinois  in  the  State  of  Vir- 
ginia. Kahokia  submitted  in  the  same  way,  and  a priest 
named  Gfibault  undertook  a conciliatory  embassy  to  Vin- 
cennes, which,  with  its  garrison,  likewise  renounced  Eng- 
lish supremacy.  But  a party  of  British  from  Detroit 
recaptured  it  in  December,  During  the  same  season 
another  expedition,  under  Willing,  of  Philadelphia,  capt- 
ured the  English  forts  on  the  lower  Mississippi,  of  which 
Natchez  was  the  most  important.  Throughout  the  win- 
ter of  1778-79  the  Indians  were  on  the  war-path  in  the 
English  interest.  They  sought  scalps  and  took  no  pris- 
oners, for  Hamilton,  their  employer,  gave  bounties  only 
for  the  former.  In  February,  however,  Clark,  after  a 
hard  fight,  recaptured  Vincennes,  both  town  and  fort, 
cutting  off  the  supply  trains  from  Detroit,  and  taking 
prisoners  the  convoy  of  forty  men. 

In  April  was  gathered  a force  of  some  fifteen  hundred 
men.  They  were  commanded  by  Evan  Shelby  and 
Louisiana  equipped  by  Isaac,  his  son.  Encountering 
tft o Eng-  the  hostile  Indians  at  Chickamauga  they 
laud.  nearly  annihilated  the  power  of  the  savages, 

and  rendered  the  scheme  of  an  attack  on  the  South  from 
that  quarter  impossible.  The  channels  of  immigration 
toward  the  fertile  plains  were  thus  cleared,  and  before 


EVIL  EFFECTS  OF  THE  FOREIGN  ALLIANCE  307 


the  plans  of  Spain  were  completed  they  were  already 
thwarted,  for  the  whole  bank  of  the  Mississippi  from 
Kaskaskia  southward  to  Natchez  was  already  in  Ameri- 
can hands.  Galvez,  the  Spanish  governor  of  Louisiana, 
acted  with  promptness  after  the  declaration  of  war, 
raised  a motley  force,  consisting  in  part  of  the  regulars 
at  his  disposal,  but  chiefly  of  American  volunteers  and 
negroes,  and  wrested  from  the  English  all  western  Flor- 
ida except  Pensacola. 

The  long  paralysis  of  English  activity  was  largely  due 
to  a remarkable  natural  phenomenon,  the  terrific  frost 
of  eighty  days  in  the  previous  winter,  which  F r a n c e ex_ 
suspended  all  energy  in  public  life  for  that  PectEPeace- 
time  and  for  many  weeks  subsequent.  The  French 
alliance  did  nothing  to  arouse  Congress.  They  fondly 
expected  a speedy  peace,  and  arrangements  were  actually 
made  for  its  negotiation.  Vergennes  succeeded  first  in 
neutralizing  the  freedom  of  negotiation  they  had  secured 
by  the  accession  of  Spain,  and  binding  them  not  to  con- 
clude a treaty  without  the  formal  consent  of  France. 
The  question  of  boundary  was  to  be  conceded ; Canada 
and  Nova  Scotia  on  the  north,  the  Atlantic  on  the  east, 
Florida  on  the  south,  and  the  Mississippi  on  the  west, 
provided  America  would  not  insist  on  the  exclusive  right 
to  navigate  it.  The  north  and  south  boundaries  were 
those  declared  by  England  in  1713.  Bitter  discussion 
arose  over  the  fisheries  question,  resulting  in  a decision 
to  insist  on  their  enjoyment  as  before  the  war.  Finally 
a formal  appeal  was  made  to  the  States  for  help  in 
money  matters,  but  no  response  was  expected  or  made, 
for  there  was  a general  reliance  on  further  subsidies 
from  France  and  Spain.  Fifty  millions  more  of  Conti- 
nental currency  were  issued  during  January,  and  an 
equal  sum  from  time  to  time  throughout  the  year.  By 
June  the  market  value  of  a Continental  dollar  was  one- 


308  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


twentieth  of  its  face  ; by  the  end  of  the  year,  when  the  sum 
total  in  circulation  was  two  hundred  millions,  it  was  worth 
less  than  a thirtieth.  The  financial  collapse  was  complete. 

Gates  had  three  thousand  men' in  New  England,  with 
head-quarters  at  Providence  ; there  were  six  thousand  in 
Movements  the  Highlands  under  McDougall  and  Putnam, 
of  cunton.  an(j  Washington  had  seven  thousand  between 
Middlebrook,  in  New  Jersey,  and  Newburgh,  on  the  Hud- 
son, where  his  head-quarters  -were.  The  English  had 
eleven  thousand  men  in  New  York  and  five  thousand  at 
Newport.  And  yet  the  summer  of  1779  was  a season  of 
general  inactivity  at  the  original  seat  of  war,  though 
there  was  desultory  fighting  of  considerable  importance 
both  North  and  South,  as  well  as  that  among  the  pioneers 
already  mentioned.  Clinton  became  restless  under  the 
fire  of  hostile  criticism  as  he  lay  shut  up  in  New  York, 
and  in  May  despatched  an  expedition  with  two  thousand 
men  to  the  Chesapeake.  In  pursuance  of  the  ministerial 
policy  of  devastation  the  prosperous  Virginia  shores 
were  ravaged,  a hundred  vessels  burnt,  and  the  English 
ships  returned  to  New  York  with  a rich  booty — seven- 
teen prizes  and  three  thousand  hogsheads  of  tobacco. 
The  Virginia  government  retaliated  by  the  seizure  of 
property  belonging  to  British  subjects.  Early  in  June 
Clinton  himself  led  a sally  forty  miles  up  the  Hudson, 
and  occupied  Stony  Point  on  one  side  and  Verplanck’s 
on  the  other.  The  Americans  were  thus  deprived  of  all 
communication  between  the  opposite  shores  south  of  the 
Highlands. 

A similar  foray  wrought  serious  havoc  on  the  Connec- 
ticut shore  at  Norwalk,  Fairfield,  and  New  Haven. 
Sc  nypcfnt  ^ese  depredations  could  not  be  permitted 
to  continue.  Washington  and  Wayne  elab- 
orated a plan  which  the  latter  carried  to  successful  exe- 
cution. With  the  utmost  care  and  secrecy  twelve  hun- 


EVIL  EFFECTS  OF  TIIE  FOREIGN  ALLIANCE  309 


dred  men  were  led  in  detached  columns  by  the  mountain 
passes  of  the  Highlands  to  a rendezvous  within  two 
miles  of  Stony  Point.  After  a brief  reconnoissance  by 
Wayne  the  attack  began  in  the  early  morning  of  June 
16th.  The  works  were  stormed  at  the  point  of  the  bay- 
onet, and  five  hundred  and  forty-three  prisoners,  officers 
and  men,  were  captured.  Cannon  and  stores  were  re- 
moved and  the  fortifications  razed.  The  American  loss 
was  about  twenty,  and  they  had  regained  the  all-impor- 
tant King’s  Ferry.  Another  brilliant  exploit  was  that  of 
Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia,  who  with  a small  party  surprised 
the  fort  at  Paulus  Hook,  now  Jersey  City,  and  almost 
without  a casualty  captured  the  garrison  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty-nine  men. 

The  Indians,  moreover,  and  their  Tory  allies,  were 
punished  for  the  continued  and  bloody  excesses  which 
were  the  fitting  sequels  to  the  massacres  of  Sullivan's 
AVyoming  and  of  Cherry  Valley.  Congress  against’ lie 
had  in  February  consented  to  an  expedition  lrotiuois- 
against  the  Iroquois  ; and  in  August,  after  inexplicable 
delays,  a force  of  about  three  thousand  men  under  Sulli- 
van entered  the  Susquehanna  Aralley.  Before  their  arrival 
the  patriots  had  commenced  a series  of  desultory  move- 
ments against  the  enemy.  These  were  now  strength- 
ened and  continued  until  the  Onondagas,  Senecas,  and 
Mohawks  were  thoroughly  cowed.  A pitched  battle  was 
fought  at  Newtown,  near  Elmira.  The  mixed  force  of 
some  six  hundred  Indians  and  English  was  led  by  Brant, 
Johnson,  and  the  Butlers.  The  whites  fled,  and  the  red 
men  finding  their  allies  could  not  protect  them,  begged 
for  permission  to  remain  neutral.  The  early  season  had 
been  unexampled  for  horrid  excesses,  at  its  close  the 
perpetrators  had  lost  their  own  homes  and  crops.  No 
sooner,  however,  did  Sullivan  proceed  than  the  allied 
Tories  and  savages  rallied  again,  and  in  one  long  revel  of 


310  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


destruction  spread  desolation  along  the  frontier.  For 
lack  of  money  and  provisions  the  little  Continental  army 
could  proceed  no  farther  than  the  Genesee  Valley. 

During  the  same  month  an  attempt  against  the  ~F.no- 
lish  post  of  Castine,  established  in  June  at  the  mouth  of 
The  fiasco  of  the  Penobscot,  in  the  Maine  wilderness,  was 

Castme.  aiso  thwarted.  In  July  Massachusetts,  with 
an  access  of  natural  but  ill-considered  resentment  at 
what  was  an  inexplicable  act  of  bravado,  fitted  out  two 
frigates,  twenty-four  transports,  and  nearly  twenty  pri- 
vateersmen to  meet  daring  with  daring  and  destroy  Cas- 
tine. A thousand  men  were  embarked.  In  due  time,  on 
July  28th,  these  arrived  before  the  place  and  disembarked. 
The  strong  fortifications  defied  their  efforts  and  pro- 
tracted the  siege.  The  expedition  had  been  followed  by 
five  English  frigates  and  a sixty-four-gun  ship,  which  ar- 
rived from  New  York  the  second  week  in  August,  to  find 
the  Americans  again  embarked  and  offering  resistance. 
The  very  same  day  the  English  attacked  and  overpow- 
ered the  adventurers.  Soldiers  and  sailors  alike  landed 
to  escape  capture,  and  set  fire  to  many  of  their  own  ships. 
The  brave  but  Quixotic  party  then  set  out  on  their  weary 
retreat  of  three  hundred  miles  through  the  forest  wil- 
derness. Saltonstall,  the  Continental  commander,  was 
court-martialled  and  degraded.  Lovell,  the  local  officer, 
was  acquitted.  The  cost  in  money  had  been  enormous  ; 
those  who  incurred  it  would  not  pay,  and  as  the  blame 
had  been  fixed  on  the  Continental  authority,  eventually, 
but  most  reluctantly,  it  was  assumed  by  Congress. 

The  net  result  in  the  North,  therefore,  was  a slight 
gain  for  the  Americans,  especially  as  they  held  King’s 
Tbe exploits  Ferry  and  as  Newport  was  now  abandoned, 
of  Paul  Jones.  owing  to  a determination  to  strengthen  New 
York  against  a possible  attack  by  the  French  fleet  and 
American  army  in  conjunction.  Moreover,  there  was 


EVIL  EFFECTS  OF  THE  FOREIGN  ALLIANCE  311 


great  encouragement  on  the  ocean.  A Scotch  adven- 
turer of  remarkable  character,  named  Paul  Jones,  had  two 
years  previously  taken  service  with  the  United  States  as 
a naval  officer.  In  1778  he  surprised  Whitehaven,  and 
in  July  of  this  year  had  sailed  from  L’Orient  with  a 
squadron  of  live  small  vessels — two  American  and  two 
French  men-of-war,  with  one  privateer — to  cruise  on  the 
coasts  of  Ireland  and  Scotland.  In  September  he  de- 
scried off  Flamborough  Head  a merchant  fleet  from  the 
Baltic,  under  the  convoy  of  two  war-ships,  the  Serapis 
and  the  Countess  of  Scarborough.  An  hour  after  sun- 
set, on  the  twenty-third,  Jones,  in  the  Poor  Richard,  of 
forty  guns,  engaged  the  Serapis,  of  forty-four.  The  bat- 
tle lasted  at  short  range  for  an  hour  and  an  half,  and  the 
American  ship  was  sadly  battered.  Her  commander  bore 
down  and  grappled  his  antagonist.  Two  hours  more  of  a 
desperate  hand-to-hand  conflict  ensued  in  the  long  twi- 
light and  dusk  of  those  latitudes,  and  at  length  the  Sera- 
pis struck  her  colors.  Next  morning  the  American  com- 
mander had  just  time  to  transfer  his  men  and  stores  to 
the  prize  before  his  own  vessel  sank.  The  French  frig- 
ate Pallas,  after  another  gallant  action  captured  the 
Scarborough,  and  the  fleet  bore  away  for  Holland,  enter- 
ing the  Texel,  October  4th,  1779. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


CAMDEN  AND  KING’S  MOUNTAIN— 1779-1780 

Hostilities  in  Georgia — English  Authority  Re-established — Lincoln 
and  D’Estaing  Fail  before  Savannah — Proposition  to  Arm 
Slaves — Fall  of  Charleston — English  Policy  in  the  South — 
Measures  Taken  by  Cornwallis— The  Reign  of  Terror  in  South 
Carolina— The  Patriots  Prepare  for  Resistance — Gates  Defeat- 
ed at  Camden — The  Frontiersmen  Meet  the  Crisis — Battle  of 
King’s  Mountain — Moral  Effect  and  Character  of  the  Victory— 
Greene  Relieves  Gates — Bankruptcy  and  Mutiny  in  the  North 
— Failure  of  Plans  for  Co-operation  between  Washington  and 
D’Estaing — Arrival  of  Rochambeau. 

The  year  1779  is  not  memorable  in  the  annals  of  the 
Revolution  for  these  successes  and  reverses,  but  for  an 
Hostilities  in  entire  change  in  the  seat  of  war.  The  plan 
Georgia.  for  a Southern  campaign  had  been  matured 
by  Germain  in  the  previous  year,  but  had  for  a time  re- 
mained in  abeyance  owing  to  a lack  of  new  troops.  An 
effort  was  made  to  enlist  men  in  America,  but  only  a few 
could  be  secured,  and  these  were  for  the  most  part  Irish 
Roman  Catholics,  who  hated  France  because  she  had  ex- 
pelled the  Jesuits.  The  arrival  of  the  French  fleet  also 
made  it  more  difficult  to  land  such  soldiers  as  were 
available.  Two  expeditions  of  refugees  entered  Georgia 
from  Florida  and  ravaged  certain  districts,  but  their  ca- 
reer was  short.  Lincoln,  who  had  been  wounded  in  his 
Northern  service  was  now  convalescent,  and  had  received 
the  appointment  of  commander-in-chief  for  the  South. 
Early  in  January,  1779,  Prevost,  who  was  the  English 
military  governor  of  Florida,  marched  with  a small  con- 


Charlottesville  i 


jPoint  Fork 


Richmond 


;3\-illiamsl>urg 
r kt  o w n 


V,nes^. 


Portsmouth 


Halifax 


Hillsboro 


Raleigh 


Sense 


C.  Lookout 


r«  iu  rr  <“•  Charlotte  c/% 
.Gilbert  Town  Mecklenburg! 

Cher^v)* 


Cowpens 


’ilmington 


Winnsboro 


Eutaw  Springs 


Charleston 


S?  /Bean  fort 
Purvsburg 


Savannah 1 


Ft  Sunbury 


SCALE  OF  MILES 


THE  SOUTHERN  COLONIES 

ILLUSTRATING 

THE  SECOND-HALF  OF  THE  REYOLlTIOy 


CAMDEN  AND  KING’S  MOUNTAIN 


313 


tingent  to  Savannah,  outwitted  Robert  Howe,  the  naval 
commander,  and  took  the  city.  Campbell  advanced  and 
occupied  Augusta.  Both  he  and  Prevost  feeling  secure 
in  their  positions,  began  almost  immediately  the  devas- 
tation of  the  surrounding  country,  and  the  soldiery  plun- 
dered at  will. 

The  salient  features  of  the  curious  resistance  which 
similar  conditions  had  made  necessary  in  the  North  were 
to  be  repeated  with  little  variation  in  the  proposition 
South,  the  chief  difference  being  in  the  activ-  t0  arm  slaves- 
ity  and  violence  of  the  numerous  Tories  who  dwelt  in  the 
midlands.  With  a small  nucleus  of  Continental  regulars 
Lincoln  soon  collected  a considerable  body  of  militia, 
and  North  Carolina  sent  a second  force  of  two  thousand 
under  Ashe,  the  arms  for  whom  w7ere  furnished  by  South 
Carolina,  which  also  provided  supplies  and  raised  a regi- 
ment of  dragoons.  The  entire  army  numbered  about 
thirty -live  hundred.  Some  minor  actions  between  the 
marauding  British  and  the  militia  turned  to  the  Ameri- 
can advantage  ; but  Ashe,  who  had  been  detailed  with  a 
separate  command  of  fifteen  hundred  men  was  defeated 
on  March  3d,  at  Brier  Creek.  Georgia  was  now  nearly 
lost  and  the  royal  government  temporarily  re-established. 

During  the  latter  part  of  1778  and  the  first  half-year 
of  1779  the  fleets  of  Byron  and  D’Estaing  had  been 
in  the  West  Indies  carrying  on  an  intermit- 
tent warfare  with  checkered  successes.  The  thority  re-es- 
French  took  Dominica,  and  the  English  tjbUshed- 
seized  St.  Lucia.  For  sis  months  D’Estaing  was  block- 
aded at  Port  Royal,  but  when,  in  June,  1779,  Byron  sailed 
for  England  in  a convoy,  the  French  admiral  took  both 
St.  Vincent  and  Grenada.  He  then  avoided  the  general 
engagement  which  the  English  sought,  and  in  response 
to  a letter  from  the  French  consul  at  Charleston,  ap- 
peared early  in  September  off  Savannah.  Men  and  am- 


314  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


munition'  were  landed  to  assist  in  a siege  of  the  city, 
which  by  this  time  Prevost  had  strongly  fortified.  But 
owing  to  uncertainty  and  lack  of  concerted  action  week 
after  week  passed  before  the  first  lines  of  approach  were 
thrown  up.  The  stormy  season  was  at  hand,  and  the 
fleet  might  easily  be  driven  off  the  coast.  It  was,  there- 
fore, determined  to  try  an  assault  on  October  9th. 
D’Estaing  landed  with  his  men,  and  led  one  column  com- 
posed in  part  of  North  Carolina  militia  to  the  attack. 
The  other,  under  Lincoln,  moved  simultaneously.  The 
onset  was  desperate,  but  it  was  met  by  a fire  no  less  so. 
For  a moment  the  American  flag  appeared  on  the  ram- 
part, but  it  disappeared  as  the  two  South  Carolina  lieu- 
tenants who  bore  it  were  shot  dowrn.  The  French  stand- 
ard-bearer also  planted  his  banner  on  a conspicuous 
spot,  but  only  for  an  instant.  The  result  was  an  utter 
discomfiture  of  the  assailants.  Six  hundred  Frenchmen 
fell  slain  or  wounded,  among  the  latter  D’Estaing  him- 
self. The  Americans  lost  about  two  hundred.  Pulaski, 
the  gallant  Pole,  was  struck  by  a ball,  and  died  soon  af- 
terward. The  English  loss  was  trifling. 

The  failure  was  attributed  to  the  information  given  by 
a deserter  to  the  English.  But  in  every  case,  so  far,  dis- 
Lincoin  and  aster  seemed  to  wait  on  enterprises  under- 
before^Savan-1  taken  conjointly  by  the  allies.  The  fleet 
mih-  sailed  back  to  the  Antilles.  Nevertheless  its 

presence  on  the  coast  had  delayed  the  movements  of  the 
English,  and  it  was  December  before  three  thousand 
troops  from  New  York,  under  Campbell,  finally  landed. 
Clinton’s  flotilla  of  transports  had  been  scattered  by  ad- 
verse winds,  and  it  was  not  until  January,  1780,  that  he 
himself,  with  six  thousand  men,  reached  the  mouth  of 
the  Tybee  Kiver. 

The  English  forces  were  at  once  directed  against 
Charleston,  which  both  opponents  held  to  be  the  key  of 


CAMDEN  AND  KING'S  MOUNTAIN 


315 


the  Southern  States.  Washington  counselled  Lincoln  to 
keep  in  the  open  country  where  his  strength  lay  ; but 
yielding  probably  to  an  over-strong  public  English  p0! 
impulse,  the  American  leader  threw  himself  icy  the 

i • -i  „ South. 

into  the  city,  secured  supplies  for  a siege,  and 
fortified  the  neck.  Seven  hundred  Virginia  regulars  had 
been  sent  from  the  North  as  a reinforcement  to  Lincoln, 
and  Cornwallis  came  in  April  with  three  thousand  men 
from  New  York  to  complete  the  overwhelming  superior- 
ity of  Clinton.  At  this  juncture  Laurens  arrived  from 
Washington  with  a proposition  to  arm  the  negroes. 
Men  of  color  had  bravely  fought  at  Monmouth.  The 
capture  of  slaves  by  the  English  was  a source  of  profit 
so  immense  that  they  never  dreamed  of  emancipating 
the  blacks.  It  was  very  likely  that  negroes  would  fight 
for  American  liberty  in  the  South  as  bravely  as  they  had 
already  done  in  the  North,  especially  if  they  might  hope 
to  secure  their  own  freedom  at  that  price.  The  plan 
was  debated  and  angrily  rejected. 

Meantime  the  surrounding  country  had  been  invested 
by  Cornwallis  and  the  siege  was  successfully  progress- 
ing. Ar  but  lino  t with  an  English  squadron  Fail  of 
safely  crossed  the  bar  under  the  guns  of  Fort  Char:eston. 
Moultrie.  Georgia  was  already  lost,  and  thoughts  of 
a surrender  were  entertained  and  discussed.  Finally 
Clinton  was  asked  for  terms  by  the  dispirited  civilians, 
who  would  have  agreed  either  to  neutrality  or  to  capitu- 
lation. He  refused  to  treat  except  with  the  military 
authorities.  There  was  disaffection  of  the  most  serious 
kind  in  the  city,  and  languor  marked  both  the  siege 
operations  and  the  defence.  Finally,  after  the  third 
parallel  of  approach  had  been  completed,  Lincoln  yielded 
to  terms  of  a very  stringent  nature,  and  on  May  12th 
surrendered.  The  number  of  combatants  included  in 
the  articles  embraced  all  inhabitants  who  had  ever  par- 


316  TIIE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


ticipated  in  resistance  on  the  American  side,  and  was 
nearly  five  thousand.  There  were  also  valuable  cannon 
and  other  munitions  in  the  place.  And  so  rich  was  the 
little  town  of  fifteen  thousand  people  that  the  booty  was 
worth  about  three  hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling. 

The  loss  of  Charleston  was  morally  an  awful  blow. 

The  State  government  was  utterly  disorganized  and  its 

Measures  mem^ers  fled  northward.  South  Carolina 

taken  byCom-  was  open  to  the  enemy  and  was  soon  over- 
warns.  . . ^ 

run  by  parties  sent  in  all  directions  to  plun- 
der and  terrorize.  For  a time  the  population  seemed 
stunned  and  no  resistance  was  made.  Tarleton  and  his 
troopers  became  a scourge.  In  a single  skirmish  with 
the  militia  he  killed  over  a hundred  men,  wounded  a 
hundred  and  fifty  of  the  fugitives,  and  himself  lost  but 
eighteen  men.  Menacing  proclamations  were  spread 
broadcast,  and  his  name  became  a word  of  horror.  By 
June  Clinton  felt  himself  justified  in  proclaiming  the 
re-establishment  of  royal  government.  The  act  was 
most  ill  advised.  Tories  and  plunderers  had  done  their 
worst,  and  the  English  officers  were  enrolling  company 
after  company  of  royalists.  A desperate  people  roused 
itself  to  retaliate  ; many  even  of  the  trimmers  and  in- 
different were  stung  to  activity.  But  the  step  was  taken 
in  order  to  lend  one  ray  of  glory  to  his  American  career, 
the  active  pai’t  of  which  was  now  nearly  over.  Dis- 
pirited by  the  lukewarm  support  of  the  ministry,  and 
irritated  by  the  evident  favor  which  Cornwallis  enjoyed, 
he  chose  this  juncture  to  resign  the  command  into  the 
hands  of  his  subordinate  and  departed  for  New  York, 
cherishing  the  belief  that  two  Southern  States  were  sub- 
dued ; that  there  were  few,  as  he  wrote,  in  South  Carolina 
who  were  not  either  prisoners  or  enlisted  in  the  English 
ranks.  He  felt  assured  also  of  his  reputation  in  that  the 
rich  supplies  of  cotton,  rice,  and  indigo,  which  were  as 


CAMDEN  AND  KING’S  MOUNTAIN 


317 


current  as  gold,  would  now  be  cut  off  and  the  crippled 
States  compelled  to  yield. 

Cornwallis  found  liim«self  with  an  effective  force  of 
about  seven  thousand  men.  With  these  and  the  new 
regiments  which  he  hoped  to  raise  among  the  ^ f 
abounding  Tories  of  North  Carolina,  who  terror irfsouth 

, ...  j.  i • -i  i i Carolina. 

were  only  waiting  for  his  arrival,  as  he  be- 
lieved, to  rise  and  deliver  the  State  into  his  hands,  he 
intended  to  march  victoriously  to  the  Chesapeake,  leav- 
ing behind  him  a land  subdued  and  reorganized  under 
colonial  governments.  The  devastation  of  the  country 
remained  unchecked,  and  as  the  ruthless  leaders  still 
further  alienated  minds  hitherto  undecided,  the  patriots 
began  to  gather  head.  The  configuration  of  the  State 
made  Camden  on  the  Wateree  an  important  gateway  to 
the  northern  interior.  It  was  occupied  by  Lord  Eawdon 
with  a small  garrison  of  English  regulars,  and  Corn- 
w'allis  advanced  from  Charleston  to  make  it  secure. 

The  highlands  to  the  northwest  were  the  safest  rally- 

ing-poiut  for  the  Americans,  because  there,  as  in  the  low- 

lauds,  the  people  were  ardent  supporters  of  The  patriots 

the  cause.  Thither  under  Sumter  repaired  prepare  for  re- 
. sistance. 

the  determined  band  of  volunteers,  and  they 
were  soon  strengthened  by  a regiment  composed  of  their 
brethren.  These  men  had  seemingly  yielded  to  the  Eng- 
lish requisition  that  all  male  inhabitants  should  be  en- 
rolled as  militia,  but  having  received  their  arms  and 
equipments  had  then  deserted  in  a body.  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina  both  sent  contingents  of  volunteers. 
Washington,  too,  had  detached  for  the  relief  of  Charles- 
ton the  largest  number  he  dared  to  send  away  from  his 
diminished  army,  but  the  difficulties  of  transportation 
had  been  insuperable,  and  it  was  June  before  they  ap- 
proached. Kalb  was  the  general  in  command,  Williams 
his  capable  adjutant.  The  men  were  poorly  clad  and 


318  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


badly  fed,  the  heats  of  summer  had  induced  disease,  and 
they  were  totally  untit  for  a campaign.  But  Gates  had 
been  chosen  by  Congress  to  replace  the  captured  Lincoln 
as  commander  in  the  South,  although  Washington  had 
recommended  Greene.  In  spite  of  Kalb’s  strong  pro- 
test and  a memorial  from  the  officers,  marching  orders 
were  given  the  very  day  of  Gates’s  arrival.  After  a slow 
and  disastrous  march,  during  which  serious  mutinies 
were  threatened,  the  relieving  force  arrived  before  Cam- 
den simultaneously  with  Cornwallis.  On  August  14th, 
1780,  the  two  forces  were  within  striking  distance. 

Gates’s  utter  incapacity  was  soon  proven.  By  an  ill- 
advised  night-march  of  his  army  the  battle  was  joined  at 
f ^ half -past  two  in  the  morning  of  the  sixteenth, 
featedatcam-  when  for  the  first  time  Corn wallis’s  presence 
became  known.  At  the  very  outset  the 
American  cavalry  broke  and  fled,  the  untrained  militia  of 
North  Carolina  and  Virginia  followed  in  panic  without 
an  effort  at  resistance.  The  English  formed  in  a strong 
position  between  two  swamps,  and  the  American  attack 
on  the  front  was  successfully  repulsed.  The  Continen- 
tals from  Maryland  and  Delaware  resisted  long  and  des- 
perately  under  the  leadership  of  Kalb,  who  fought  with 
stubborn  courage  until  his  horse  was  killed  under  him 
and  he  himself  pierced  by  no  less  than  eleven  bullets. 
Overwhelmed  by  superior  numbers  he  and  his  command 
were  compelled  to  yield,  and  shortly  after  the  brave 
leader  died.  The  monument  ordered  by  a grateful  Con- 
gress to  be  erected  at  Annapolis  to  his  memory  was  long 
delayed,  but  has  finally  been  built : his  life  was  mysteri- 
ous, but  his  good  fame  has  grown  with  years.  The  defeat 
wTas  soon  a disorderly  rout  ; Gates,  neither  knowing  nor 
caring  for  the  fate  of  his  men,  fled  on  his  charger,  riding 
through  Charlotte  to  Hillsborough,  two  hundred  miles  in 
three  and  a half  days.  The  English  losses  were  very  se- 


CAM  DKX  AND  KING  S MOUNTAIN 


319 


vere,  about  five  liundred  picked  troops  ; those  of  their  op- 
ponents are  unknown,  but  they  must  have  been  heavier. 
The  American  officers  with  what  soldiers  could  be  col- 
lected rallied  under  Sumter,  but  retreating  carelessly 
they  were  surprised  and  routed  by  Tarleton. 

The  victory  at  Camden  seemed  to  intoxicate  Cornwal- 
lis. Confident  of  support  by  the  ministry  he  instituted 
a second  reign  of  terror  in  South  Carolina, 
hanging  militia-men  who  had  gone  over  to  tiersmei/met 
the  Americans  and  despatching  cruel  agents  tlie  cni!lS' 
to  further  devastate  uncertain  districts  in  order  that  he 
might  leave  no  foe  behind  him  on  his  northern  march. 
But  the  swamps  of  the  Pedee  and  Santee  were  inaccess- 
ible to  strangers,  while  their  intricate  passes  and  island 
glades  soon  swarmed  with  patriot  refugees.  The  un- 
daunted Williams  gathered  and  armed  a force  in  the  dis- 
trict around  the  village  of  Ninety-Six  to  encourage  the 
people  and  undo  the  sorry  work  of  the  English.  Francis 
Marion,  a famous  partisan,  justly  called  the  Bayard  of 
the  South,  gathered  a band  of  devoted  followers,  and 
with  sleepless  vigilance  patrolled  the  lowlands  to  the 
very  doors  of  Charleston.  Sumter,  undismayed,  began  a 
similar  career  in  the  mountains.  Cornwallis  was  ignor- 
ant of  the  dangers  which  beset  him  in  spite  of  his  tri- 
umph, when,  on  September  2d,  he  began  his  march, 
opening  his  line  until  the  left  wing  under  Ferguson 
reached  westward  into  the  hill  country  at  the  base  of  the 
Appalachians.  The  centre  under  his  own  command  ad- 
vanced to  Charlotte,  and  easily  repelling  a spirited  at- 
tack made  by  a few  skirmishers  occupied  the  town. 

This  was  the  darkest  hour  of  the  struggle  for  indepen- 
dence. The  confederation  was  bankrupt,  the  people  in 
the  Northern  and  Middle  States  apathetic,  Congress 
hopelessly  feeble,  Washington  without  support  and  crip- 
pled by  poverty,  French  aid  unavailing,  treason  in  high 


320  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


places,  victorious  invaders  marching  irresistibly  and  leav- 
ing desolation  behind.  To  many  the  end  seemed  near, 
but  aid  rose  in  a most  unexpected  quarter 
King’s tMoun-  from  a land  unknown  to  the  English  and  un- 
familiar to  nearly  all  Americans.  The  back- 
woodsmen of  the  Alleghenies  were  destined  not  only  to 
make  American  union  essential,  but  to  turn  the  beam  at 
the  very  crisis  when  independence  hung  wavering  in  the 
scale.  Already  the  hardy  settlers  of  the  mountain  dis- 
tricts, Presbyterian  Calvinists  for  the  most  part,  no 
lovers  of  the  parent  which  had  been  but  a stepmother  to 
so  many  of  her  unprivileged  children,  had  heard  of  the 
invasion,  its  successes,  and  its  outrages.  Their  trusted 
leaders  were  men  in  whom  conviction  and  conduct  were 
closely  related  in  religion,  politics,  and  warfare.  From 
distant  settlements  and  remote  valleys,  from  Watauga 
and  the  Virginia  mountains  came  companies  and  regi- 
ments, to  which  organization  for  the  emergencies  of  a 
frontier  life  was  a second  nature.  They  were  com- 
manded by  men  whose  names  are  now  familiar  to  every 
school-boy  studying  the  geography  of  those  parts, 
Shelby,  Sevier  and  Cleveland,  Campbell,  McDowell,  and 
Williams. 

Thus  was  formed  a true  army  of  the  West,  as  it  was 
designated,  about  seventeen  hundred  strong  and  cora- 

, manded  bv  its  own  officers.  The  command- 
Moral  effect 

and  character  er- in -chief  was  Williams.  Ferguson  had 
of  the  victory.  ° 

posted  a force  consisting  of  eleven  hundred 
and  twenty-five  men  in  a position  of  great  strength  on 
King’s  Mountain,  the  last  summit  of  the  range  stretching 
eastward  on  the  border  between  North  and  South  Caro- 
lina. There,  on  October  7tli,  the  encounter  took  place. 
It  was  long  and  severe,  an  unbroken  fight  lasting  for 
hours.  At  the  end  both  Ferguson  and  Williams  were 
dead.  The  Americans  had  lost  about  one  hundred  men, 


CAMDEN  AND  KING’S  MOUNTAIN 


321 


but  the  British  division  was  annihilated,  four  hundred 
and  fifty-six  being  killed,  six  hundred  taken  prisoners. 
The  effect  of  the  victory  was  electric.  Cornwallis  was 
stunned,  and  turning  on  his  steps  began  to  retreat  to 
Winnsborough.  The  spirit  of  the  people  was  revived 
and  the  whole  country-side  rose  to  harass  his  march,  Sum- 
ter seriously  annoying  him  on  his  Hanks.  The  weather, 
too,  was  inclement,  and  the  fever  miasm  claimed  many 
victims  among  the  unacclimatized  English  ; Cornwallis 
himself  was  among  the  afflicted.  Tarleton  was  attacked, 
defeated,  and  driven  in,  and  the  year  which  had  promised 
so  well  at  its  opening  for  English  success  ended  in  over- 
whelming disaster. 

It  is  customary  to  compare  the  battle  of  King’s  Moun- 
tain with  the  affairs  at  Lexington  and  Bennington.  This 
is  not  unnatural,  for  they  were  all  the  work  of  “embat- 
tled farmers.”  But  the  earlier  was  a defeat,  and  merely 
showed  that  the  Americans  would  fight  ; the  second  was 
a victory  gallantly  and  desperately  won,  but  the  men  were 
well  equipped,  were  within  reach  of  a military  depot, 
and  had  the  moral  support  of  a strong  organized  army 
near  by.  King’s  Mountain  was  the  unassisted  work  of 
men  who  met  a disciplined  force  of  white  soldiers  for  the 
first  time,  at  a moment  when  the  American  army  had 
disappeared  in  inglorious  defeat,  and  all  hope  of  success 
had  vanished  from  the  hearts  of  any  but  the  most  san- 
guine. In  its  character  and  its  effect  the  fight  at  King’s 
Mountain  is  the  most  typical  of  any  revolutionary  con- 
flict, exhibiting  as  it  does  the  unsuspected  resources  of 
the  insurgents  who  had  unwittingly  created  behind  their 
older  settlements  a rear-guard  which  now  claimed  a new 
empire  outside  the  original  colonies,  and  was  the  nucleus 
of  a nation,  displaying  a possibility  and  a promise  of  ul- 
timate success  at  the  moment  when  the  older  colonies 
were  displaying  their  separatism  and  lassitude  in  ways 
21 


322  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


and  for  reasons  which  posterity  can  understand  but  not 
admire.  The  disappearance  of  the  force  which  fought 
it  was  as  curious  and  phenomenal  as  their  appearance. 
The  army  melted  away  insensibly,  as  company  after  com- 
pany marched  back  to  their  frontier  homes. 

In  the  interval  gained  by  the  battle  of  King’s  Moun- 
tain, Gates  re-established  his  head-quarters,  collected  fif- 
Greene  re-  teen  hundred  of  his  scattered  army,  and  re- 
lieves Gates,  turned  to  Charlotte.  But  he  was  now  known 
in  his  true  colors  ; Congress  recalled  him,  and  finally 
chose  the  energetic  and  clever  Greene  to  replace  him. 
The  wholesome  change  took  place  in  December,  1780. 

“ These  are  the  times  which  try  men’s  souls  : ” thus 
opened  one  of  the  eighteen  essays  of  the  '‘Crisis,”  written 
at  intervals  between  1776  and  1783  by  Paine, 
and  mutinjMn  to  revive  from  time  to  time  the  ever-drooping 
spirits  of  Washington’s  neglected  army.  The 
phrase  was  never  more  true  than  in  the  months  of  1779 
and  1780,  during  which  the  Northern  army  sat  watching 
the  English  in  New  York,  who  were  inert  but  fairly  com- 
fortable, while  they  themselves  were  face  to  face  with 
conditions  scarcely  better  than  those  of  Valley  Forge. 
The  confederation  was  buried  under  mountains  of  worth- 
less paper ; Continental  obligations,  State  obligations, 
Congressional  drafts  on  European  agents,  quartermaster’s 
obligations  given  in  form  for  requisitions,  counterfeits  of 
some  or  all  of  these.  Bankrupt  in  funds  and  credit  as 
the  country  was,  the  army  was  no  longer  paid,  the  spirit 
of  mutiny  was  rampant,  desertions  were  constant,  and 
the  men  who  from  a sense  of  fear  or  honor  remained 
either  sustained  themselves  bv  marauding  or  suffered 
want.  In  December,  1779,  Congress  made  an  attempt  to 
secure  some  further  requisitions  from  the  States  ; Vir- 
ginia replied  with  a dangerous  assertion  of  independence, 
and  expressed  alarm  at  the  substitution  of  demands  for 


CAMDEN  AND  KING’S  MOUNTAIN  323 

recommendations  as  an  unjustifiable  usurpation.  In 
January,  1780,  there  was  neither  bread  nor  meat  at  West 
Point  for  over  a fortnight  ; during  the  absence  of  Clin- 
ton the  few  thousand  English  left  at  New  York  under 
Knyphausen  thought  famine  was  at  their  doors  because 
the  surrounding  waters  were  frozen.  The  fleet  could,  of 
course,  bring  no  provisions  to  them,  but  they  were  able 
to  offer  hard  cash,  ringing  coin,  for  the  rich  products  of 
the  neighborhood,  and  the  temptation  overpowered  the 
patriotism  of  the  farmers. 

A subtile  poison  had  instilled  itself  into  the  popular 
blood,  even  the  patriots  of  radical  stamp  were  under  its 
influence  and  seemed  to  have  forgotten  the  Failure  of 
days  of  energetic  manhood.  This  venom  was  operation  be’ 
a selfish  conviction  that  France  and  Spain  ^nonwsa®hd 
would  deal  with  England,  and  in  the  hour  of  D’Estaing. 
victory  Congress  as  a committee,  with  slight  but  suffi- 
cient delegated  power,  would  gather  the  fruit  of  inde- 
pendence. To  the  superficial  observer  it  appeared  as  if 
disintegration  were  complete,  the  battle  fought  but  lost 
by  apathy.  Amid  such  moral  and  financial  disaster 
Washington's  foresight  was  unavailing.  He  had  cher- 
ished and  matured  a great  design  for  the  co-operation 
of  the  French  fleet  with  his  own  land  force  in  the  capture 
of  New  York.  D’Estaing  had  permitted  himself  to  be 
drawn  into  the  Southern  campaign  in  the  hope  of  a 
trivial  advantage  which  he  did  not  gain,  and  the  oppor- 
tunity was  lost.  This  was  but  an  example  of  the  cross 
purposes  which  had  so  far  nullified  any  possible  benefit 
from  the  alliance.  The  despatches  of  the  French  minis- 
ters and  the  journals  of  the  French  officers  in  America 
unite  in  proving  how  thoroughly  they  misunderstood  the 
men  with  whom  they  had  to  deal.  There  is  a tone  of 
sarcastic  superiority,  of  good-humored  ridicule,  of  mi- 
nute and  carping  criticism  which  is  entertaining  and  in- 


324  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


structive,  but  of  friendly  sympathy  either  with  a raw  and 
unformed  people,  or  with  the  great  cause  in  which  they 
were  engaged,  imperfectly  understood  even  by  them- 
selves, the  only  representative  was  Lafayette. 

Early  in  1779  this  serious  and  now  matured  youth, 
the  confidential  friend  of  Washington,  departed  for 
Arrival  of  France.  He  received  an  impressive  and 
Rochambeau.  hearty  welcome  at  court,  his  representations 
were  heard  and  weighed  ; the  ministry  determined  on 
measures  more  effective  than  any  they  had  yet  taken.  In 
May,  1780,  he  returned  with  the  news  of  his  success,  and 
on  July  12th  a squadron  of  fifty  transports,  with  then- 
convoy,  reached  Newport.  Washington  by  a skilful  dem- 
onstration kept  the  English  in  New  York,  as  he  had  the 
year  before  prevented  their  advance  beyond  the  High- 
lands of  the  Hudson.  Six  thousand  men,  under  Count 
Rochambeau,  were  safely  landed,  and  when  Rodney  wTith 
his  fleet  appeared  they  were  so  entrenched  that  he 
passed  by.  Reinforcements  were  to  follow,  but  they 
never  arrived,  as  the  English  blockaded  the  harbor  of 
Brest,  from  which  the  next  instalment  was  to  sail.  The 
French  army  was  well  supplied,  paid  the  farmers  for  its 
requisitions  with  coin,  and  for  the  long  months  of  its  ex- 
pectant inactivity  brought  great  local  prosperity  to  the 
neighborhood.  Winter  at  last  came  on,  and  it  was  not 
until  late  in  the  campaign  of  1781  that  they  saw  any  ser- 
vice. Washington  was  for  the  moment  encouraged,  but 
he  could  not  be  content.  In  order  to  end  the  war  there 
must  be  co-operation  in  some  decisive  stroke  between  a 
strong  land  force  and  a fleet  powerful  enough  to  nullify 
temporarily,  at  least,  the  naval  superiority  of  the  Eng- 
lish, and  thereby  prevent  the  enemy  from  either  receiving 
assistance  by  water  or  securing  its  retreat  on  the  same 
element.  In  September  he  visited  the  French  camp  to 
enforce  his  views,  and  preconcert  measures  with  his  allies. 


CHAPTEK  XXm 


THE  SOUTHERN  INVASION  REPELLED— 1780-1781 

Washington  Reprimands  Arnold — Arrest  of  Andre — His  Character 
and  Guilt — Insubordination  in  the  Army — Robert  Morris  and 
the  Finances  of  the  Confederation — Arnold  in  Virginia — Lafay- 
ette and  Steuben — Greene  Creates  a Southern  Army— Morgan 
at  Cowpens — Greene's  Retreat— The  Forces  at  Guilford — Corn- 
wallis Victorious  but  Thwarted — Groton  Heights— Effect  of 
Rawdon’s  Cruelties — Greene  Marches  Southward — Defeat  at 
Hobkirk’s  Hill — Sumter  and  Marion — Battle  of  Eutaw  Springs. 

The  treason  of  Arnold,  which  disclosed  itself  during 
Washington's  temporary  absence,  was  a serious  discour- 
agement, not  symptomatic,  however,  of  pre- 
vailing and  hidden  disaffection,  as  might  have  r ep?  fma/nds 
been  feared,  seeing  how  insubordinate  and  Amold‘ 
unruly  the  unpaid  officers  and  men  occasionally  were. 
In  accordance  with  the  verdict  rendered  in  Philadelphia 
by  Arnold’s  judges,  Washington  administered  the  repri- 
mand, but  in  a letter  both  gentle  and  considerate.  The 
culprit  had  been  recklessly  brave  during  the  early  years 
of  the  war,  and  to  the  fertility  of  his  genius  some  most 
important  prefatory  movements  were  probably  due. 
Hoping  that  the  prodigal  would  return,  the  rebuke  was 
further  broken  by  his  appointment  to  the  important 
command  of  the  Highlands. 

But  Arnold’s  moral  and  financial  ruin  had  gone  hand 
in  hand.  Almost  immediately  he  opened  negotiations 
with  Clinton  for  the  betrayal  of  his  trust.  The  chosen 
agent  of  the  British  commander  was  a young  officer  of 


326  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


engaging  presence,  excellent  parts,  and  good  family,  Ma- 
jor Andre.  His  success  in  reaching  Arnold’s  quarters 
Arrest  of  An-  an(^  concluding  the  negotiations  was  complete. 

dr6-  The  journey  to  West  Point  was  by  water,  but 
unforeseen  circumstances  compelled  his  return  by  land. 
Documents  concerning  the  nefarious  transaction  were 
concealed  on  the  young  officer’s  person.  Disguised  as 
a traveller  and  provided  by  Arnold  with  a passport 
through  the  American  lines  he  set  out  on  horseback  for 
New  York.  Near  Tarrytown,  on  the  east  shore,  which 
he  reached  on  September  23d,  he  was  stopped  by  a 
party  of  three  Americans,  who  were  neither  regulars  nor 
militia,  but  volunteer  patriots  watching  the  movements 
of  suspected  Tories  in  that  troubled  region  between  the 
English  and  American  zones  of  influence.  The  appear- 
ance and  conduct  of  Andre  were  suspicious,  and  losing 
his  head  he  forgot  to  show  Arnold’s  passport.  His  cap- 
tors  accordingly  searched  him,  and  discovering  both  the 
character  of  their  prisoner  and  the  evidence  of  Arnold’s 
treachery,  promptly  carried  the  papers  and  their  bearer 
to  the  American  head-quarters. 

Washington  had  just  returned  by  Hartford  from  his 
eastern  journey.  In  spite  of  sentimental  pleas  of  youth, 
His  character  station,  obedience  to  superiors,  and  the  like, 
and  guilt,  coming  with  bad  grace  after  the  fact,  Andre 
was  tried  by  a military  court  in  due  form  on  the  charge 
of  being  a spy.  He  was  convicted  and  sentenced  to  be 
hung,  his  judges  being  convinced  by  the  most  conclusive 
considerations  ; to  wit,  his  disguise,  the  nature  of  his  er- 
rand, and  the  information  he  had  obtained,  which  would 
have  been  used  whether  the  plot  failed  or  not.  The  exe- 
cution took  place  on  October  2d.  In  the  heats  of  pas- 
sion which  then  arose  and  lasted  for  many  years  after 
the  war  was  over,  aspersions  were  constantly  cast  on 
Washington's  character  because  he  would  not  at  least 


THE  SOUTHERN  INVASION  REPELLED  327 


commute  the  sentence  to  military  execution  by  shooting, 
and  spare  Andre  the  shameful  death  of  the  gallows. 
Americans  were  not  slow  to  retort  by  citing  the  case  of 
Nathan  Hale,  and  producing  cumulative  evidence  as  to 
the  ill-treatment  of  their  captured  countrymen  wdien  not 
a shadow  of  doubt  could  be  cast  on  their  character  as 
prisoners  of  war.  The  wordy  discussion  was  perhaps 
necessary,  but  it  introduced  many  irrelevant  considera- 
tions. The  question  of  Andre’s  character  and  guilt  was 
one  of  military  law,  and  the  finding  of  the  court  is  no 
longer  disputed.  In  the  condition  of  the  country  at  that 
juncture  executive  clemency  would  have  been  criminal, 
and  it  is  a doubtful  hypothesis  that  it  could  ever  have 
been  justified  by  any  considerations  or  under  any  cir- 
cumstances. 

Unfortunately  the  felon  himself  escaped,  reaching  New 
York  in  safety  on  September  24th,  to  claim  and  receive, 
in  the  chilling  atmosphere  of  social  aversion, 
the  price  of  his  treason,  thirty-two  thousand  nation  in  the 
dollars  in  money  and  an  office  on  Clinton’s  army' 
staff.  His  character  was  further  blackened  by  a procla- 
mation which  he  issued  offering  similar  rewards  to  those 
who  would  follow  his  example.  There  was  no  response, 
but  the  critical  condition  of  the  army  wTas  shown  by  two 
serious  mutinies  in  January,  1781  ; one  by  Pennsylvania 
troops  no  fewer  in  number  than  thirteen  hundred,  who 
successfully  claimed  to  be  dismissed  on  the  ground  that 
having  enlisted  for  three  years  or  the  war  their  time  had 
expired.  They  themselves,  however,  seized  the  British 
agents  who  sought  to  tamper  with  their  dubious  patriot- 
ism, and  the  prisoners,  tried  by  authority  of  Congress, 
were  convicted  and  hung  as  spies.  The  second  instance 
of  insubordination  was  that  of  the  New  Jersey  regulars, 
who  were  encouraged  by  the  example  and  success  of  their 
neighbors.  In  the  former  case  Washington  had  felt 


328  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


leniency  to  be  necessary  and  had  so  advised  Congress, 
but  the  spreading  contagion  had  to  be  sternly  checked. 
Two  of  the  new  ringleaders  being  seized  and  shot,  the 
unruly  battalions  quickly  returned  to  duty  and  complete 
subordination. 

Such  were  the  results  of  timidity  and  incapacity  in  the 
administration  of  financial  politics.  Throughout  1780 
Robert  Mor-  the  only  contributions  obtained  from  the 
nances  drthe  States  were  raised  in  kind  and  chiefly  by  the 
confederation,  commissaries  of  the  army.  To  meet  what 
was  ignorantly  but  naturally  conceived  to  be  the  wilful 
and  artificial  depreciation  of  the  currency,  a plan  of  re- 
funding was  broached  which  would  meet  artful  specula- 
tors on  their  own  ground — the  redemption  of  two  hun- 
dred millions  outstanding  by  a new  issue  of  ten  millions, 
bearing  interest  at  five  per  cent.,  and  redeemable  in 
natural  produce  at  the  end  of  sis  years.  Four  parts 
were  to  be  directly  at  the  disposal  of  Congress,  six  were 
to  go  to  the  States  according  to  the  proportion  of  old 
notes  presented  by  their  authorities  for  redemption. 
The  expenses  of  1780  were  three  millions  in  specie,  the 
loans  which  Jay  had  negotiated  in  the  interval  at  Madrid 
and  Franklin  at  Paris,  together  with  the  new  credit 
of  Congress,  would  cover  the  immediate  claims.  The 
scheme  was  partially  successful,  and  so  far  a helpful  sup- 
port. But  the  new  era  of  solvency  dawned  when  Rob- 
ert Morris  was  appointed,  in  February,  1781,  to  devote 
himself  to  the  theory  and  detail  of  further  financial 
administration.  It  was  found  that  the  holders  of  paper 
obligations  were  in  great  measure  willing  to  forego 
whatever  trifling  value  their  bills  might  have,  the  large 
majority  refusing  to  present  them  for  such  partial  pay- 
ments as  they  would  have  received,  especially  when,  as 
the  course  of  exchange  soon  determined,  forty  dollars 
of  the  old  emissions  had  to  be  given  for  one  of  the  new, 


THE  SOUTHERN  INVASION  REPELLED  329 


and  a real  dollar  in  coin  became  successively  worth  va- 
rious sums  up  to  live  hundred  nominal  dollars  of  the 
old  Continental  paper. 

Although  the  Old  Dominion  had  given  way  to  a tem- 
porary outburst  of  passion  when  a feeble  and  somewhat 
discredited  Congress  used  strong  language  Arnold  in  vir- 
incompatible  with  the  false  position  it  oc-  gima- 
cupied,  her  true  and  tried  temper  reappeared  when  real 
danger  menaced  not  only  the  common  cause  but  the 
very  territory  of  the  South.  The  efforts  she  put  forth  to 
furnish  troops,  first  to  Gates  and  afterward  to  Greene, 
for  the  defence  of  the  Carolinas,  left  her  own  valleys  and 
shores  unprotected,  and  Clinton  took  advantage  of  the 
fact  to  find  employment  for  Arnold.  English  soldiers 
would  neither  serve  under  him  nor  with  him,  and  he  was 
therefore  put  in  command  of  a Tory  troop  and  landed 
on  the  Virginia  shores  to  ravage  at  will.  He  was  soon 
strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  Phillips  from  New  York 
with  a body  of  regulars.  Among  other  dishonorable  ex- 
ploits the  renegade  general  burned  Richmond,  which  had 
recentty  been  made  the  capital  city  of  the  State,  and  on 
January  20,  1781,  he  had  established  himself  at  Ports- 
mouth, some  distance  from  the  mouth  of  the  Chesapeake. 

Steuben,  with  a small  corps  of  observation,  wras  im- 
mediately despatched  to  watch  his  movements.  Wash- 
ington got  together  a force  of  twelve  hundred  Lafayette  and 
from  New  England,  which  were  equipped  in  Ste,lben' 
measure  by  the  expen diture  of  two  thousand  guineas 
borrowed  on  Lafayette’s  private  credit,  and  put  under 
the  command  of  the  young  general  to  follow  and  sup- 
port Steuben,  using  as  best  he  could  the  information 
obtained  by  the  clever  German.  Jefferson  importuned 
the  aid  of  a French  squadron  from  Newport,  for  the 
American  strength  was  insufficient.  The  French  ships 
were  driven  back  to  Rhode  Island  by  an  English  detach- 


330  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


ment  from  the  fleet  at  New  York,  and  Clinton  put 
Phillips,  who  had  two  thousand  men,  in  command  at 
Portsmouth,  where  Arnold’s  force  of  a thousand  men 
remained  for  the  time.  For  a moment  it  appeared  as  if 
Cornwallis  would  be  at  liberty  to  direct  his  main  army 
against  Lafayette,  who  had  retreated  as  far  as  Annapolis 
with  his  little  company  of  shoeless  and  shelterless  men, 
but  having  received  important  and  imperative  orders 
had  halted  there  to  share  in  the  later  developments  of 
that  determinative  year. 

Greene  was  not  only  a true-hearted  and  capable  man 
but  he  had  learned  valuable  lessons  in  the  school  of  ex- 
perience under  a master  since  recognized  by 

Gr66D6  ere-  A o »/ 

ates  a South-  military  experts  of  all  lands  as  one  of  the 
great  generals  of  all  time.  Gates’s  removal 
had  been  rendered  more  bitter  by  family  bereavement, 
and  Washington,  in  a spirit  of  genuine  forgiveness,  sought 
to  temper  his  affliction  by  a letter  of  friendly  consolation 
for  both  sorrows.  "Whether  or  not  the  discredited  man 
could  have  redeemed  his  character  is  uncertain  ; the  re- 
organization, or  rather  the  creation  of  a Southern  army  at 
Charlotte  was  the  work  of  Greene,  who  arrived  in  Decem- 
ber, 1780,  and  awakened  a spirit  of  co-operation  through- 
out the  entire  section.  Virginia,  under  the  impulse  of 
Jefferson  and  by  a splendid  effort,  raised  eight  hundred 
regulars  and  seventeen  hundred  militia.  This  feat  saved 
the  Southern  States,  for  these  troops,  with  the  remnants 
which  Gates  had  reassembled  and  volunteers  who  with 
the  revival  of  hope  were  ready  to  fight  again,  gave  him 
eventually  upward  of  thirty-six  hundred  men.  But  his 
early  operations  were  conducted  with  a feeble,  dispirited 
force. 

Cornwallis  had  meantime  called  in  three  thousand  sol- 
diers from  Portsmouth,  where  they  lay  ready  to  invade 
Virginia,  having  come,  under  Leslie,  from  New  York  by 


THE  SOUTHERN  INVASION  REPELLED  331 


way  of  Charleston,  and  again  he  set  out  for  Camden, 
anxious  to  carry  out  the  old  plan  and  forced  therefore  to 
repeat  in  a measure  old  manoeuvres.  Once  Morgan  at 
again  he  threw  out  his  left  wing,  under  Cowpens. 
Tarleton,  to  a position  nearly  identical  with  that  of  the 
previous  year,  and  once  again  a like  disaster  befell  it, 
but  the  scene  was  Cowpens,  at  no  great  distance  from 
Iving’s  Mountain.  The  American  commander  was  Mor- 
gan, the  adventurous  Virginia  free-lance,  who  with  per- 
sonal followers  and  some  other  companies  entrusted  to 
him  by  Gates,  had  marched  by  several  remote  valleys  to- 
ward the  border  of  North  Carolina.  But  he  had  now 
closed  up  his  line  with  the  idea  of  rejoining  the  centre, 
and  with  about  nine  hundred  men  in  well  ordered  ar- 
ray, met  Tarleton  on  January  17th.  The  English  force 
of  eleven  hundred  was  annihilated,  while  that  of  the 
Americans  suffered  but  few  casualties.  Tarleton  and  a 
few  troopers  managed  to  escape.  Morgan,  so  exhausted 
by  the  rude  campaigning  of  the  wilderness  that  he  nev- 
er again  could  participate  in  the  war,  nevertheless  pro- 
ceeded, with  scarcely  a check,  to  unite  with  Greene,  and 
on  February  9th  reached  the  camp  at  Guilford  Court 
House. 

But  Cornwallis,  reinforced  by  Leslie,  had  destroyed  all 
his  heavy  baggage,  and,  though  harassed  at  the  fords  by 
American  attacks  or  checked  in  his  advance  Greene’s  re- 
by  swollen  currents,  was  pushing  forward  in  treat- 
light  marching  order.  So  few  in  number  was  Greene’s 
army  that  he  had  withdrawn  across  the  Boanoke  into 
Virginia,  where  the  strong  and  welcome  contingent  of 
that  State  came  in  and  for  the  first  time  gave  him  a fight- 
ing chance.  The  English  plan  of  leaving  no  enemies  in 
the  rear  was  carried  out  as  far  as  possible,  Wilmington 
and  New  Berne  being  occupied  by  soldiers  from  Charles- 
ton. North  Carolina  thus  restored  to  royal  domination. 


332  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


Cornwallis  bad  intended  to  effect  a junction  with  Arnold’s 
force  in  Virginia  to  complete  the  conquest  of  the  South. 

But  Greene  was  at  last  strong  enough  to  dispute  the 
field,  and  accordingly  recrossed  the  border  into  North 
The  forces  at  Carolina  to  meet  Morgan,  reaching  Guilford 
Guilford.  Court  House,  now  Greensboro,  on  February 
10th.  Cornwallis,  knowing  the  wretched  condition  of  the 
Americans  in  the  lack  of  accoutrements  and  supplies,  was 
anxious  for  an  immediate  engagement.  But  his  oppo- 
nent was  not  to  he  surprised.  By  a series  of  clever  re- 
treats, lasting  four  days,  and  by  successive  feints  during 
the  ensuing  week,  he  effectually  thwarted  the  English 
general  and  postponed  the  battle.  At  length,  several  im- 
portant bodies  of  militia  having  come  in  from  the  neigh- 
borhood, on  the  fourteenth  of  March  Greene  returned  to 
Guilford  and,  carefully  choosing  his  ground,  awaited  the 
attack.  In  the  disposition  of  his  troops  he  threw  the 
militia  forward,  carrying  out  a favorite  hut  untried  the- 
ory that  they  were  more  valuable  in  the  attack  than  as 
a reserve.  There  were  upward  of  sixteen  hundred  vet- 
erans with  two  thousand  militia  in  the  three  American 
lines,  while  Cornwallis  had  less  than  two  thousand  reg- 
ulars ; hut  the  Americans  were  destitute  and  worn  out, 
while  the  English  were  fresh  and  well  supplied  with  all 
necessaries.  The  attack  began  in  the  morning  of  March 
15th. 

The  first  onset  of  the  British  was  made  in  mass  and  the 
American  van  of  eleven  hundred  untried  local  militia  fled 
in  terror,  many  of  them  without  having  fired 
victorious,  but  a shot.  The  second  line,  composed  of  Conti- 
thwaru.d.  nentals  from  Virginia  and  Maryland,  resisted 
gallantly  for  a time  but  retreated  before  the  bayonet 
charge  of  the  English  regulars.  Perhaps  a third  of  the 
Americans  were  in  the  last  reserve,  and  still  stood  where 
they  had  been  placed,  but  Greene,  believing  the  day  irre- 


THE  SOUTHERN  INVASION  REPELLED  333 


trievable,  determined  to  withdraw,  and  did  so,  conducting 
his  retreat  in  good  order.  He  lost  his  artillery  and  up- 
ward of  four  hundred  men,  while  he  was  further  weakened 
by  the  departure  for  their  homes  of  nine  hundred  militia 
whose  time  was  almost,  but  not  quite,  completed.  On  the 
other  hand,  five  hundred  and  seventy  of  the  British  were 
killed  or  wounded,  so  desperate  had  been  their  valor. 
The  affair  was  a victory  for  Cornwallis,  but  the  surround- 
ing population  was  patriotic,  the  loyalists  had  been  har- 
ried into  flight  or  inaction  ; Greene  was  chagrined  and 
anxious  to  fight  again.  The  enemy’s  numbers  were  now 
too  small  for  a further  stand  and  there  was  nothing  left 
for  the  conqueror  but  temporarily  to  accept  the  role  of 
defeat.  The  retreat  began,  and  with  the  remainder  of  his 
army  he  reached  Wilmington  on  April  7th.  North  Caro- 
lina was  never  again  under  English  control. 

The  plan  to  leave  no  enemies  in  the  rear  was  of  neces- 
sity abandoned,  but  the  northward  march  was  to  be  con- 
tinued. By  previous  arrangement  a portion  Groton 
of  the  Charleston  garrison  had  reached  Wil-  Heights, 
mington  and  the  reorganized  force  set  out  to  join  at 
Petersburg  the  army  which  Clinton  had  sent  from  New 
York  to  the  Chesapeake  under  Arnold  and  Phillips.  It 
met  with  little  resistance  on  the  march  and  arrived  on 
May  20th.  Phillips  was  dead,  and  Arnold  was  prompt- 
ly dismissed  to  New  York.  He  was,  however,  not  yet 
relegated  to  obscurity.  In  the  following  September 
he  was  sent  with  a force  of  English  soldiers  to  capture 
the  important  seaport  of  New  London,  in  Connecticut. 
The  place  was  sacked,  but  the  native  militia  made  a 
heroic  though  desperate  resistance  in  Fort  Griswold, 
on  Groton  Heights.  When  compelled  at  last  to  capit- 
ulate, quarter  was  refused  by  their  captors  who  were 
frenzied  by  their  own  losses,  and  the  commander  was 
run  through  with  his  own  sword  by  the  English  major  to 


334  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


whom  he  had  just  delivered  it.  The  Americans  lost  but 
twelve  men  in  repelling  the  attack,  but  after  the  surren- 
der upward  of  seventy  were  killed  and  thirty  wounded. 
The  English  lost  forty-eight  who  were  killed  and  double 
the  number  who  were  disabled  and  wounded.  In  his  re- 
port  to  Clinton,  Arnold  represented  the  action  as  honor- 
able warfare.  He  was  never  again  employed  in  the  pub- 
lic service,  the  rest  of  his  life  being  spent  in  obscurity 
and  embittered  by  remorse. 

The  successor  of  Cornwallis  in  the  Carolinas  was  Lord 
Rawdon,  who  faithfully  carried  on  the  policy  of  his  pre- 
E£fect  o£  decessor  in  dealing  with  the  patriots  when- 
criieit'i o'  on’s  ever  they  fell  into  his  power.  There  were 
many  men  of  limited  capacity  who  wavered 
in  such  extremities  and  turned  first  this  way  and  then 
that,  in  the  hope  of  quiet  and  protection.  Some  were 
thorough  loyalists,  many,  perhaps  a small  majority7,  were 
at  heart  in  sympathy  with  the  American  revolt.  Such 
men  were  treated  with  uniform  cruelty,  even  when  the 
impossibility  of  protecting  them  gave  the  English  no 
right  to  demand  even  a show  of  loyalty.  The  conse- 
quence was  a smothered  but  bitter  disaffection,  which 
grew  in  extent  with  every  day  ; but  the  people  were 
overawed  and  cautious,  so  that  a timid  inertia  continued 
to  lame  the  local  militia.  It  was  therefore  with  a force 
reduced  to  eighteen  hundred  men  that  Greene  marched 
into  South  Carolina  to  cut  off  the  communication  of 
Charleston  with  Camden  and  Ninety-Six. 

Greene’s  real  courage  and  ability  were  fully  displayed 
in  the  subsequent  events.  His  force  was  insufficient  to 
Greene  march-  guard  Virginia,  and  with  the  trust  in  others 
es  southward,  characterizes  great  minds  in  a crisis 

he  left  it  unprotected  to  march  into  the  interior  of  a 
doubtful  territory,  without  the  possibility  of  securing 
communications  in  his  rear  or  establishing  a base  of 


THE  SOUTHERN  INVASION  REPELLED  335 


supplies.  Lee  and  Marion  with  the  light  cavalry  were 
to  manoeuvre  in  the  low  country  against  the  line  from 
Charleston  to  Camden,  Sumter  with  a few  State  troojts 
was  to  keep  the  district  between  Ninety-Six  and  Cam- 
den, Pickens  with  the  mountain  volunteers  was  to  cap- 
ture supplies  destined  for  Augusta  and  Ninety-Six,  while 
the  commander  himself  was  to  move  directly  against  the 
controlling  point. 

The  march  to  Camden  occupied  thirteen  days.  Greene 
did  not  find  the  enemy  exactly  where  he  expected  and 
encamped  at  Hobkirk’s  Hill  near  by.  After  Defeat  at  Hob- 
some  unimportant  movements  he  returned  to  kUk’s  Hl11- 
the  same  place  and  on  April  28th  was  surprised  by 
Rawdon  with  a force  somewhat  inferior  to  his  own,  but 
not  before  he  had  been  able  to  array  his  troops.  The 
battle  was  as  stubborn  and  bitter  as  any  of  the  war,  but 
Greene  was  again  defeated,  with  a loss  of  three  hundred 
men.  Again,  however,  he  drew  off  in  good  order,  his 
loss  was  no  greater  than  Rawdon’s,  and  although  the  lat- 
ter was  soon  reinforced  by  five  hundred  men,  he  could 
not  again  baffle  Greene’s  strategy  and  force  the  Ameri- 
cans to  an  immediate  engagement. 

Meantime,  on  April  2Gth,  Lee  and  Marion  had  cap- 
tured a British  post  on  the  Santee,  and  his  communica- 
tion being  thus  broken,  Rawdon  set  fire  to  Sumter  a n d 
Camden  and  withdrew.  Throughout  May  Marion- 
both  Sumter  and  Marion  carried  on  a ceaseless  and  suc- 
cessful warfare  ; Orangeburg,  Fort  Motte,  Fort  Granby, 
Fort  Cornwallis,  and  Georgetown  fell  into  their  hands, 
and  by  the  middle  of  the  month  the  State  as  far  as  Au- 
gusta and  Ninety-Six  was  again  under  American  control. 
Early  in  June  Pickens  captured  Augusta,  and  Greene  had 
already  besieged  Ninety-Six.  The  latter  forti'ess,  how- 
ever, was  soon  relieved  by  Rawdon  and  the  garrison 
withdrew  in  safety. 


336  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


The  remainder  of  the  summer  passed  without  any 
great  activity.  The  Americans  encamped  in  the  hills  near 
Battle  of  Eu-  Camden,  while  the  English  reoccupied  Orange- 
taw  Springs.  purg_  Haw  don  went  back  to  Charleston, 
where  he  hanged  Isaac  Hayne,  a native  planter  who  had 
deserted  from  the  British  and  had  been  recaptured.  He 
then  sailed  for  England,  but  the  ship  was  taken  by  the 
French  and  he  himself  made  a prisoner.  The  execution 
of  Hayne  was  justly  regarded  as  murder,  and  the  name 
of  its  perpetrator  was  execrated.  Such  was  the  effect 
on  the  public  temper  that  the  native  militia  now  fought 
like  veterans.  At  the  opening  of  September  Greene  set 
his  force  in  motion  to  drive  the  enemy  from  his  posi- 
tion. The  English,  now  under  the  command  of  Stuart,  re- 
treated. Their  first  halt  was  at  Eutaw  Springs.  On  the 
morning  of  September  8th  they  were  overtaken  at  that 
place  and  in  the  fighting  which  followed  Marion  and 
Pickens  with  their  militia  bore  the  burden  of  the  onset. 
The  Americans  were  victorious  and  the  British  fled. 
The  pursuers  were  hot  and  rash  ; there  was  a temporary 
and  serious  check  to  their  course,  in  which  many  brave 
men  were  captured  and  carried  by  the  flying  English  to 
Charleston.  The  American  loss  was  five  hundred  and 
fifty-four,  that  of  their  enemy  nearly  a thousand.  Col- 
onel Stuart  with  the  remnant  of  his  force  withdrew  to 
Charleston,  Greene  to  his  position  on  the  heights  of 
Santee.  Defeated  in  almost  every  important  encounter, 
the  American  general  and  his  capable  lieutenants  had 
nevertheless  gained  their  end.  The  three  cities  of 
Charleston,  "Wilmington,  and  Savannah  remained  tem- 
porarily in  English  hands,  but  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas 
were  freed  from  invasion  or  the  fear  of  it. 


CHAPTER  XXVHL 


YORKTOWN— 1781 

Plans  of  Cornwallis — His  Advance  against  Lafaj'ette — The  Pursuit 
and  Retreat — Steuben  Creates  an  Army — Disagreement  be- 
tween Clinton  and  Cornwallis— Position  of  the  Latter  at  York- 
town — Arrival  of  the  French  Fleet  under  De  Grasse — Washing- 
ton’s Pians — Sectional  Feeling  among  the  States— Events  in  the 
North  during  1780 — Conferences  of  Washington  aud  Rocham- 
beau — Clinton  Expects  an  Attack  on  New  Fork — The  Com- 
bined Armies  March  Southward — The  Threatened  Mutiny  at 
Philadelphia — Defeat  of  the  English  Fleet  in  the  Chesapeake 
— Investment  of  Yorktown— Cornwallis  Surrenders — Disposi- 
tion of  the  American  and  French  Forces — Closing  Events  of 
the  War. 

In  tlie  early  spring,  Lafayette  Lad  received  orders 
from  the  North  of  the  utmost  importance,  a general 
statement,  namely,  that  Virginia  was  soon  to  p]ans  of  com- 
be the  centre  of  operations,  and  that  to  this  waUis- 
end  he  must  defend  it  temporarily  as  best  he  could. 
Scarcely  more  than  a boy  in  years,  he  was  now  display- 
ing  the  qualities  of  a veteran  in  the  difficult  part  as- 
signed to  him,  which  he  filled  entirely  on  his  own  re- 
sponsibility, though  nominally  under  the  command  of 
Greene.  There  had  been  a curious  analogy  between  the 
determination  of  Greene  to  abandon  Virginia,  and  that 
of  Cornwallis  to  desert  the  Carolinas.  The  former  had 
used  the  geography  of  the  disputed  territory  with  shill, 
and  won  by  strategy.  The  earl,  however,  had  counted 
on  English  ascendency  at  sea,  and  was  indifferent  to  the 
topography  of  the  low  lands  which  were  his  goal.  He 


338  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


knew,  but  disregarded,  the  great  streams  which  flowing 
southeastward  divide  the  State  into  long  peninsulas, 
which  open  to  receive  an  army  from  the  landward,  but, 
being  enclosed  on  three  sides  by  the  waters,  are  a trap 
to  one  unsupported  by  a fleet. 

Richmond  was  the  central  depot  for  military  stores  in 
Virginia,  and  thither,  by  a forced  march  of  two  hundred 
miles,  Lafayette,  with  a thousand  men,  had 

Qis  advenes  ** 

against Lafay-  betaken  himself  from  Annapolis,  to  join  Steu- 
ben, who  had  raised  a few  hundred  militia, 
and  await  the  coming  of  Wayne  from  the  North  with  a 
thousand  Pennsylvanians.  For  nearly  a month  he  held 
in  check  the  superior  force  of  Phillips  and  Arnold,  at 
Petersburg.  When  Cornwallis  arrived,  on  May  20th,  and 
dismissed  Arnold,  he  found  himself  at  the  head  of  sev- 
en thousand  men,  but  realizing  the  insufficiency  of  this 
number  for  his  great  plans,  at  once  appealed  to  Clinton 
for  reinforcements  from  New  York.  There  was  no  de- 
lay, however,  in  moving  against  Lafayette. 

Washington  and  Greene  had  learned  the  tactics  of  re- 
treat before  superior  forces,  and  Lafayette  was  scarcely 
The  pursuit  their  inferior  in  the  art.  Withdrawing  step 
and  retreat.  ]jy  step  in  the  direction  of  Fredericksburg 
before  the  English,  he  occupied  the  strongest  positions, 
and  finally,  without  risking  a battle,  met  Wayne  on  June 
7th.  Tarleton  was  despatched  on  raids  to  Charlottes- 
ville and  Albemarle,  in  order  to  disperse  the  legislature 
and  seize  stores.  On  his  return  the  conclusion  was 
reached  that  Lafayette’s  force  being  now  equal  to  a de- 
fensive campaign,  caution  required  a return  to  the  base 
of  supplies  and  a temporary  cessation  of  operations. 
Accordingly,  the  English  marched  back  first  to  Rich- 
mond, and  then  across  the  Chickahominy  to  Williams- 
burg, marauding  as  they  went.  The  arsenal  stores  de- 
stroyed at  Albemarle,  the  excellent  cavalry  horses  and 


YORK  TOWN 


339 


other  captured  supplies,  together  with  the  booty  taken 
from  the  Virginians  in  the  course  of  the  month,  were 
worth  sums  estimated  by  millions. 

When  for  the  first  time  Steuben  had  reached  the  goal 
of  his  ambition  by  obtaining  an  independent  command 
in  Virginia,  he  had  displayed  his  genius  in  stenben  cre. 
raising  and  equipping  troops  for  Greene.  So  ates  an  army- 
now  he  steadily  increased  the  force  of  Lafayette.  There 
were  upward  of  five  thousand  men  in  the  army  which, 
following  on  the  flanks  of  Cornwallis,  did  what  was 
possible  to  restrain  his  pillaging.  On  July  6th  WTayne 
rashly  brought  on  a partial  engagement  at  Greene 
Springs  in  which  serious  loss  was  inflicted  on  both 
sides,  but  the  Americans  wei’e  defeated.  Cornwallis,  in 
accordance  with  orders  from  Clinton  to  seek  a defensive 
position,  continued  his  march  to  Yorktown,  called  in  the 
garrison  from  Portsmouth,  which  increased  his  army  to 
nearly  eight  thousand  men,  occupied  Gloucester  on  the 
opposite  shore  of  the  York  River,  and  proceeded  to  throw 
up  intrenchments  while  his  active  and  well-equipped 
riders  ravaged  the  country  for  miles  around.  Lafayette 
remained  in  camp  at  Malvern  Hill. 

The  movements  of  the  English  in  Virginia  had  been 
in  partial  accord  with  orders  received  from  Clinton. 
Between  him  and  Cornwallis  there  was  nowT  a Disagree- 
hearty  dislike,  engendered  by  mutual  jealousy  ciinton^and 
and  distrust.  Sir  Henry  knew  how  hopeless  Cornwallis, 
would  be  any  attempt  to  reduce  Virginia,  which  was  a 
focus  of  American  patriotism,  and  realized  the  strategic 
importance  of  New  York,  which  he  felt  to  be  threatened 
by  the  armies  of  Washington  and  Rochambeau  in  possi- 
ble co-operation  with  a French  fleet.  The  earl,  assured 
of  ministerial  favor  and  scheming  to  supplant  the  gen- 
eral, blindly  desired  to  evacuate  New  York,  transfer  the 
seat  of  war  to  Virginia,  and  with  the  help  of  Rodney’s 


340  THE  FRENCH  AVAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


fleet  reduce  the  South  to  subjection.  He  was  angered 
by  repeated  messages  from  Clinton,  received  on  the 
march  through  Williamsburg  and  afterward  at  intervals, 
demanding  the  return  of  three  thousand  troops  to  New 
York,  and  would  gladly  have  withdrawn  to  Charleston. 

The  situation  was  indeed  a disappointing  one  for  Corn- 
wallis. In  abandoning  Portsmouth  he  had  left  no  avenue 

of  retreat  toward  the  South.  Greene  had 
the  latter  at  checkmated  his  movement  to  secure  the  Caro- 

Yorktown.  •.  • ^ i i • t « . , . 

hnas  and  narrowed  his  chances  for  victory  to 
a combined  operation  in  which  success,  if  obtained,  must 
be  shared  with  the  fleet,  Lafayette  was  within  attacking 
distance,  ready  to  thwart  any  movement  inland.  As  yet 
the  English  were  masters  of  the  Chesapeake,  but  the  few 
weak  vessels  could  make  no  resistance  in  case  a French 
squadron  should  arrive  before  the  English,  and  there  was 
already  a French  naval  force  at  Newport.  All  this  he 
knew.  What  he  could  not  know  was  that  a powerful 
armament  under  De  Grasse  had  left  Brest  in  March, 
1781,  for  the  Antilles,  to  continue  the  naval  war  with 
England  in  the  West  Indies,  and  that  the  commander’s 
orders  were  to  sail  in  July  for  North  America,  there  to 
co-operate  with  the  allied  armies  of  the  United  States 
and  France. 

It  was  August  when  the  French  admiral,  with  twenty- 
eight  vessels,  containing,  besides  sailors  and  marines,  four 
Arrival  of  thousand  soldiers  under  Saint  Simon,  sight- 
fleet 'under  De  ed  the  Virginia  shores.  No  opposing  force  of 
Grasse.  adequate  strength  was  in  the  Chesapeake. 

Rodney,  instead  of  following  his  adversary,  had  gone  to 
England  on  private  business  and  left  Hood,  a subordi- 
nate, with  an  inadequate  force  to  meet  and  co-operate 
with  the  expected  fleet  from  New  York  under  Graves. 
The  latter  lingered  until  the  French  squadron  from  New- 
port had  sailed  to  join  De  Grasse.  The  landing  of  Saint 


YORKTOWN 


341 


Simon’s  army,  therefore,  was  accomplished  without  diffi- 
culty. Before  the  first  of  September,  Lafayette,  whose 
ambitions  were  now  realized  in  the  important  station 
he  had  reached,  found  himself  in  command  not  only  of 
his  own  forces  at  Malvern  Hill  but  of  the  auxiliaries 
furnished  by  his  native  land,  who  encamped  near  by  in  a 
place  of  great  strength  and  raised  his  effective  force  to 
about  eight  thousand  men. 

From  the  beginning  it  had  been  clear  that  the  Ameri- 
can cause  was  dependent  for  success  on  the  union  of  the 
colonies.  For  that  reason  it  was  essential  Washington’s 
that  New  England  should  not  be  cut  off  from  plans- 
the  others  by  the  loss  of  New  York  and  the  Hudson 
River.  With  a single  eye  to  that  end  Washington,  dis- 
regarding personal  appeals  from  his  Southern  friends, 
undeceived  by  every  feint  and  stratagem,  in  the  face  of 
apathy  and  opposition,  with  a decimated  army  lacking 
equipments  and  often  the  barest  necessaries  of  life,  had 
persistently  held  the  long  line  of  investment  from  Mid- 
dlebrook  in  New  Jersey  around  by  the  north  to  the 
Highlands  of  the  Hudson,  whence  he  had  unbroken  com- 
munication with  the  Eastern  States. 

From  the  earliest  times  it  had  been  the  colonial  habit 
to  throw  the  burden  of  defence  on  the  localities  most  in 
danger.  Throughout  the  French  war  there 
had  been  a development  of  the  same  spirit,  feeling  among 
each  colonial  group  turmsliing  men  and  sup- 
plies  for  the  conflict  in  its  immediate  neighborhood. 
The  same  disposition  lingered  in  the  Eastern  States. 
There  had  for  a long  time  been  no  fighting  of  importance 
on  or  near  their  lands.  Their  mercantile  instincts  had 
reasserted  themselves  with  mastery,  and  the  commerce  of 
New  England  was  again  most  flourishing.  They  were 
now  secure,  for  after  July,  1780,  Rochambeau  and  the 
French  fleet  were  at  Newport,  and  there  are  indications 


342  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  TIIE  REVOLUTION 


that  the  people  were  not  anxious  for  his  departure. 
Washington  was  no  longer  supplied  with  men,  as  in  the 
sacrifice  of  local  Southern  interests  to  those  of  the  once 
fiery  patriotism  of  the  North  and  East  he  had  reason  to 
expect  he  would  be. 

Such  was  the  destitution  of  the  American  army  that 
they  could  not  use  the  opportunity  of  an  attack  on  New 
Yoi’k  which  the  formation  of  solid  ice  in  the 
the  North  dur-  waters  round  about  during  the  severe  win- 
ing  1780'  ter  of  1779-80  had  afforded.  The  English, 
however,  were  kept  in  constant  dread  of  such  a move- 
ment. The  ensuing  summer  was  barren  of  substantial 
results.  There  were  deeds  of  daring  like  Wayne’s  un- 
successful attack  on  Bull’s  Ferry  in  July,  and  the  fruit- 
less expedition  to  Staten  Island  in  October.  There  were 
conventions  at  Boston  and  Hartford,  and  much  talk  about 
“ the  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war  and  the  reception 
of  our  French  allies,”  about  giving  more  power  to  Con- 
gress, about  raising  troops  and  providing  the  munitions 
of  war.  The  only  real  gain  was  in  the  ever-improving 
system  for  military  organization,  devised  and  slowly  in- 
troduced by  Steuben.  The  plan  for  co-operation  against 
New  York,  concerted  between  Rochambeau  and  Washing- 
ton at  Hartford,  had  been  frustrated  by  Arnold’s  trea- 
son and  other  less  prominent  events.  The  opening  of 
another  year  was  not  more  promising.  The  Southern 
and  Central  States  were  indifferent,  the  troops  mutinous, 
and  Clinton  was  still  striving  to  foment  treason. 

Finally,  in  May,  another  conference  between  Washing- 
ton and  Rochambeau  was  held  at  Weathersfield,  in  Con- 
Conferences  necticut,  and  in  accordance  with  their  agree- 
ton'aDd^Ro-  ment  the  French  army  at  once  set  out  for  the 
chambeau.  Hudson.  Clinton  was  fully  informed  of  all 
these  events,  and  expected,  as  Washington  had  desired 
that  he  should,  a combined  advance  against  New  York. 


YORKTOWN 


343 


As  if  in  execution  of  such  a design  an  attack  was  made 
in  J uly  on  the  English  posts,  but  with  no  results  except 
that  Clinton  called  for  Cornwallis’s  troops  and  sent  his 
subordinate  to  Yorktown.  The  summer  passed  with  the 
army  in  a defensive  attitude,  the  commanders  establish- 
ing communication  with  the  French  admiral  and  arrang- 
ing for  a decisive  blow.  On  August  14th  the  news  came 
that  De  Grasse  was  to  enter  the  Chesapeake. 

There  had  been  two  courses  open  to  Washington — 
consistent  adherence  to  his  policy  of  warfare  on  the 
Hudson  or  an  entire  change  of  plan.  In  the  Clinton  ex. 
former  he  would  have  displayed  a certain  dis- 
cordance  with  the  French  movement,  in  the  lork- 
latter  he  must  practise  self-denial  and  reverse  a settled 
judgment.  In  addition  to  other  considerations  was  the 
determining  one  that  no  offensive  operations  could  be 
successful  with  neither  a French  fleet  in  New  York 
waters  nor  any  of  the  longed-for  reinforcements  which 
New  England  should  have  furnished.  With  true  great- 
ness he  combined  the  elements  into  a single  problem  and 
solved  it  by  a compromise.  The  American  forts  were 
garrisoned  for  defence,  the  base  of  operations  secured  for 
the  future  by  northward  outposts  against  Canada,  and 
measures  taken  to  confirm  in  Chilton’s  mind  the  belief 
that  New  York  was  in  danger.  Some  days  were  thus  con- 
sumed. The  army  began  to  cross  the  river,  The  com_ 
but  Clinton,  in  spite  of  warnings  from  his  ^™ecdh 
Hessian  lieutenant  at  Kingsbridge,  held  his  ward- 
conviction  more  stubbornly  than  ever  and  believed  the 
movement  was  against  Staten  Island.  By  the  twenty- 
fourth  the  march  toward  the  south  began.  Philadelphia 
was  reached  on  September  2d. 

The  New  England  troops,  their  pay  now  long  in  ar- 
rears, were  worn  out  by  the  long  march  and,  being  igno- 
rant of  their  destination,  began  ro  follow  the  pernicious 


344  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


example  previously  given  by  those  of  the  Middle  States. 
Mutiny  was  feared.  Morris  had  no  available  funds, 
The  threat-  and  Rochambeau  magnanimously  gave  twen- 
a°ed puiadei-  ty  thousand  dollars  from  his  own  store.  Most 
phrn.  opportunely  John  Laurens  arrived  at  that 

moment  from  France  with  supplies  of  all  kinds  and  five 
hundred  thousand  dollars  in  cash.  The  just  demands 
of  the  soldiery  were  satisfied  in  part,  and  their  loyalty 
grew  strong  as  their  spirits  rose.  On  the  fifth  came  the 
news  of  De  Grasse’s  arrival,  the  army  heard  it  on  the 
sixth,  and  two  days  later  the  movement  was  consum- 
mated by  the  assemblage  of  the  whole  force  at  the  head 
of  the  Elk  River,  whence  they  proceeded  in  French  ves- 
sels and  without  molestation  to  the  York  River.  Wash- 
ington himself,  with  his  friends  Rochambeau  and  Chas- 
tellux,  rode  in  the  saddle  to  Williamsburg,  by  way  of 
Mount  Vernon,  revisiting  his  home  for  the  first  time  in 
six  years.  The  union  -with  Lafayette  occurred  on  the 
fourteenth,  and  the  troops  from  the  North  were  all  safely 
landed  by  the  twenty-sixth.  Two  days  later  the  entire 
force,  numbering  about  sixteen  thousand,  was  before 
Yorktown. 

But  meantime  a naval  manoeuvre  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance had  been  consummated.  Graves  and  Hood 
Defeat  of  having  at  length  joined  forces,  arrived  off 
fleetin' the  the  Chesapeake  on  September  5th,  when  De 
Chesapeake.  Grasse  was  daily  and  hourly  expecting  the 
squadron  from  Newport  under  De  Barras.  They  made 
preparations  for  attack,  and  the  French  fleet  drew  out  in 
line  of  battle  to  defeat  their  purpose.  There  was  a sharp 
conflict  of  some  hours,  in  which  the  English  suffered 
serious  loss,  but  no  general  engagement.  For  five  days 
the  fleets  were  within  fighting  distance,  but  the  intention 
of  the  French  admiral  was  to  keep  open  the  mouth  of 
the  bay  for  the  entrance  of  the  Newport  squadron.  He 


YORKTOWN 


345 


was  successful.  The  opposing  commanders  returned  to 
New  York,  and  the  united  French  fleets  were  free  to  be- 
set Yorktown  with  no  less  than  thirty-live  vessels  of  the 
line.  De  Grasse,  however,  would  have  gone  to  sea  Avith 
nearly  all  his  ships,  for  he  learned  that  there  were  rein- 
forcements for  his  enemy  at  New  York,  and  feared  both 
the  approach  of  autumnal  storms  in  a landlocked  bay 
and  a blockade.  Washington  and  Lafayette  prevailed 
on  him  to  remain. 

Cornwallis  was  holding  a fortified  camp  some  dis- 
tance in  advance  of  his  lines.  The  French  would  have 
stormed  his  position,  but  he  voluntarily  aban-  Invegtment  of 
doned  it.  On  September  29th,  the  invest-  Yorktown. 
ment  of  Yorktown  was  complete.  On  the  night  before 
October  6th  the  Americans  and  French  simultaneously 
began  the  trenches  of  the  first  parallel,  and  on  the 
ninth  they  were  completed.  With  unusual  promptness 
the  second  parallel  was  begTin  three  days  later,  on  the 
twelfth.  Tayo  British  redoubts  impeded  its  progress. 
The  American  batteries  began  on  the  fourteenth  to 
bombard  them,  and  continued  some  hours  until  breaches 
were  made.  At  a preconcerted  signal  two  columns, 
French  and  American  respectively,  advanced,  one  against 
each.  The  American  assault  on  the  right  was  led  by 
Alexander  Hamilton.  His  success  was  instant  and  com- 
plete, so  gallant  were  his  lieutenants  and  so  daring  his 
men.  The  American  loss  was  very  slight  and  only  eight 
of  the  enemy  were  injured.  The  French,  on  the  left, 
were  prematurely  discovered,  their  struggle  was  long 
and  bitter,  and  a hundred  brave  men  fell  before  the 
works  were  taken.  The  same  night  the  besiegers’ 
trenches  included  the  two  outposts. 

There  was  but  a single  desperate  chance  left  to  Corn- 
wallis. Gloucester  Point,  on  the  opposite  shore,  was 
beleaguered  by  a force  comparatively  small.  His  ho£>e 


346  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

was  to  transport  the  garrison  thither  and  break  through 
the  French  dragoons  and  marines  who,  with  the  Vir- 
Cornwaiiis  ginia  militia,  had  been  sent  to  invest  his 
surrenders,  fortifications  at  that  place.  Early  on  the 
sixteenth  he  ordered  a sortie  against  the  narrowing  lines 
of  his  besiegers,  but  a momentary  success  was  soon 
checked  by  the  stronger  force  of  his  enemy.  At  dusk  on 
the  same  day  he  began  to  ferry  over  the  soldiers,  but  a 
storm  arose  and  prevented  the  accomplishment  of  his 
purpose.  Thwarted  in  his  last  resource,  with  famine  im- 
pending, he  yielded  to  necessity,  and  on  the  seventeenth 
asked  for  terms.  The  following  day  a commission  of 
four  members,  two  from  the  British  army  and  one  each 
from  the  American  and  French,  drew  up  in  form  the  de- 
tails of  surrender.  They  were  identical  as  far  as  possible 
with  those  exacted  by  Clinton  from  Lincoln  at  Charles- 
ton, severe  but  just : public  property  to  be  surrendered, 
private  property  respected,  and  the  Tories  left  to  the 
mercy  of  their  fellow-citizens.  The  ceremonies  took 
place  on  the  afternoon  of  the  nineteenth,  Lincoln  rep- 
resenting Washington  as  commander-in-chief  of  the 
allied  victors,  O’Hara  acting  for  Cornwallis,  who  pleaded 
illness  and  remained  in  his  tent.  The  Americans  and 
French  stood  in  line  as  the  English  marched  by  and 
stacked  their  arms,  their  standards  furled  and  their 
drums  rolling  a quaint  measure  known  as  the  “ World 
turned  upside  down.” 

The  prisoners  of  war  numbei'ed  eight  thousand  and 
eighty-seven,  of  whom  eight  hundred  and  forty  were 
Disposition  sailors  ; in  addition  to  the  small  arms  of  the 
f c ahn  ^nd  captured  there  were  two  hundred  and  forty- 
French forces.  four  cannon  included  in  the  surrender. 
Thirty-five  ships  and  seven  thousand  men  were  the 
French  contribution  to  the  victory,  nine  thousand  sol- 
diers that  of  the  Americans.  The  same  day  Clinton 


TORKTOWN 


347 


sailed  from  New  York  with  seven  thousand  soldiers  and 
the  refitted  fleet  for  the  relief  of  Cornwallis,  but  he  was 
met  oft’  Cape  Henry  by  the  packet  containing  Cornwal- 
lis's despatches  and  returned  to  New  York,  where  he 
remained  until  the  final  evacuation  of  the  city.  The 
Americans  would  gladly  have  seen  De  Grasse  depart  to 
recapture  Charleston,  but  he  had  remained  longer  than 
he  wished,  and  sailed  away  for  the  calm  waters  of  the 
West  Indies  ; Washington  and  his  army  returned  to  their 
position  before  New  York,  Rockambeau  and  the  French 
troops  encamped  at  AVilliamsburg,  Wayne  departed  with 
the  Pennsylvania  Continentals  to  reinforce  the  army  in 
South  Carolina. 

In  November  Greene  assumed  the  offensive  once 
more,  but  he  had  to  contend  with  mutinous  disaffection 
among  his  new  forces,  and  the  situation  re-  closing  events 
mained  unchanged  about  Charleston.  Wayne  of  the  war- 
marched  into  Georgia  the  following  spring,  and  after  two 
successful  skirmishes,  one  with  English  troops,  one 
with  Indians  under  an  English  officer,  compelled  the 
British  to  take  refuge  in  Savannah.  In  general  the 
country  at  large  was  heartily  sick  of  the  war.  The  re- 
joicing over  the  surrender  at  Yorktown  was  universal 
and  hearty,  but  they  were  not  followed  by  any  prepara- 
tions for  the  active  continuance  of  operations.  There 
was  a universal  reliance  on  some  hoped-for  turn  of  af- 
fairs in  English  politics,  a settled  determination  to  raise 
no  further  funds  nor  men,  and  a stolid  persistence  in 
sectional  self-assertion  with  no  care  for  the  public  inter- 
ests except  among  the  patriotic  few. 


CHAPTEK  XXIX. 


THE  PEACE  OF  VERSAILLES— 1782-1783 

American  Independence  and  European  Politics — England  and  the 
Bourbon  Powers — International  Law — Blockade  and  Contra- 
band— The  Continental  Neutrals — The  Armed  Neutrality — - 
William  Lee  and  the  Amsterdam  Proposal — Position  of  the 
Netherlands — The  News  of  Yorktown — Fall  of  the  North  Min- 
istry— State  of  English  Parties — The  Rockingham  Ministry — 
American  Peace  Commissioners — The  Terms  proposed  by  Con- 
gress— Oswald  and  Franklin — Grenville  and  Vergennes — Cross 
Purposes  in  the  Negotiation — The  Shelburne  Ministry— Posi- 
tion of  Jay  and  Adams — Franklin’s  Attitude — The  Wishes  of 
Vergennes — Secret  Mission  of  Rayneval — Jay’s  Proposals — 
Final  Negotiations — Character  of  the  Treaty — The  General 
Pacification — Fall  of  Shelburne's  Ministry — The  Coalition 
Ministry — Final  Ratification  of  the  Treaty. 

The  war  was  over,  but  Americans  could  not  know  it  as 
a certitude,  while  in  fact  the  revolution  was  far  from 
American  being  accomplished.  The  rest  of  the  strug- 
an tf ISropean  was  be  fought  in  the  English  Parlia- 

poiitics.  ment.  The  truth,  unpalatable  perhaps,  to 
the  self-sufficient,  but  comforting  to  the  patriot,  is  that 
the  stars  in  their  courses  had  been  fighting  for  American 
independence.  A Providence  in  history  can  nowhere 
be  more  clearly  seen  than  in  the  study  of  our  own  ori- 
gins. If  the  so-called  doctrinaire  requires  a test  from 
which  to  prove  the  unity  of  history,  he  wall  choose  the 
connection  of  the  American  revolution  with  contempo- 
rary European  politics  as  his  theme.  As  this  is  not  our 


THE  PEACE  OE  VERSAILLES 


349 


subject  we  must  be  content  with  a short  glance  at  the 
facts. 

In  the  state  system  of  Europe  equilibrium  had  so  far 
been  maintained  in  some  degree  by  a careful  regard  to 
that  doctrine  known  as  the  balance  of  power,  „ , , , 

. x England  and 

according  to  which  no  one  state  was  to  se-  the  Bourbon 
. , . powers. 

cure  an  undue  preponderance  m any  way 
whatsoever.  Local  interests  were  always  working  in  the 
opposite  direction,  and  England  had  gradually  secured 
not  only  vast  colonial  possessions,  but  a virtual  mastery 
of  the  seas.  The  present  struggle  was  one  phase  of  an 
effort  by  the  Bourbon  powers  to  deprive  her  in  part  of 
both.  Incidentally  there  would  be  opened  to  all  the 
European  powers  channels  of  trade  hitherto  reserved 
to  Great  Britain.  T that  extent,  therefore,  all  Europe 
would  look  on  with  complacency  and  see  England  so  far 
humiliated.  This  was  true  as  a matter  of  course  in  the 
case  of  Austria,  which  not  only  belonged  to  the  sister- 
hood of  Roman  Catholic  powers,  but  was  also  now  in 
open  alliance  with  France  and  Spain.  It  was  also  true 
of  Russia,  Prussia,  and  even  of  the  Dutch  Republic,  the 
ally  of  England  for  a hundred  and  six  years,  but  her 
rival  in  the  carrying  trade  of  the  world's  commerce. 

The  peace  relations  of  the  modern  European  nations 
were  comparatively  easy  to  regulate.  But  for  the  very 
reason  that  they  were  sisters,  and  had  all  international 
sprung  from  the  same  womb,  that  of  the  law- 
Holy  Roman  Empire  which  died  as  they  were  born, 
their  relations  in  time  of  war  were  most  complicated 
and  difficult.  Among  other  doctrines  held  with  refer- 
ence to  these  was  that  of  contraband,  that  certain  arti- 
cles, namely,  could  be  seized  wherever  found,  as  an  act  of 
self-defence,  because  without  them  an  enemy  was  weaker 
as  a belligerent.  Under  this  theory  there  could  be  no 
question  about  guns,  powder,  and  other  munitions,  but 


350  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


many,  especially  the  jurists  of  maritime  powers,  held 
that  clothing,  food,  and  similar  supplies  were  quite  as 
essential  to  successful  warfare  as  weapons  with  which 
men  actually  fought  or  might  fight. 

A further  extension  of  the  same  claim  was  that  almost 
any  harbor  of  an  enemy  might  be  regarded  as  under 
Blockade  and  blockade  if  a display  of  force,  natural  or  arti- 
contraband.  f'lciap  was  made  before  it.  England  in  par- 
ticular regarded  all  goods  belonging  to  an  enemy  as  con- 
traband, no  difference  under  what  flag  they  were  found, 
and  asserted  that  by  reason  of  her  insular  position  any 
enemy’s  harbor  opposite  her  shores,  or  before  which  her 
flag  floated  from  a vessel,  was  both  really  and  technically 
blockaded.  In  accordance  with  this  contention  her 
ships  scoured  the  high  seas,  searching  any  vessel  what- 
soever, as  containing  possibly  contraband  goods,  and  po- 
liced the  territorial  waters  by  the  shores  of  hostile  pow- 
ers on  the  plea  that  their  ports  were  blockaded.  The 
neutral  states  foresaw  that  such  a policy  would  ulti- 
mately trample  all  their  rights  under  foot. 

The  reasons  why  Great  Britain  sought  the  alliance  of 
Russia  have  been  explained.  When  Paul  Jones  brought 
The  continen-  kis  prizes  into  the  Texel  they  were  safe  be- 
ta] neutrals.  cause  Qf  the  national  Dutch  temper,  for  no 
nation  had  suffered  like  the  Dutch  since  the  outbreak  of 
the  war.  Their  carrying  trade  had  been  nearly  ruined 
by  British  privateers,  and  their  traders  were  at  the  enor- 
mous expense  of  armed  convoys.  The  first  thought  of 
Russia,  Prussia,  Denmark,  and  Sweden  was  to  drive  by 
force  all  privateers,  including  the  English,  from  their  im- 
mediate neighborhood.  But  England  could  desire  noth- 
ing better,  for  her  commerce  with  Russia  would  thereby 
be  protected  against  the  American  privateers  which  were 
endangeiing  it.  Holland  was  the  home  of  international 
law,  and  France  in  her  maritime  inferiority  had  always 


THE  PEACE  OF  VERSAILLES 


351 


contended  for  neutral  rights  such  as  were  secured  by 
the  peace  of  Utrecht.  It  gradually  became  clear  that 
the  general  welfare  of  neutral  powers  required  a further 
extension  of  an  inchoate  principle,  and  the  lesser  states 
of  the  north  naturally  looked  to  Russia  as  a leader. 

Spain  had  joined  the  Franco -American  alliance  for 
various  reasons,  among  others  to  regain  Gibraltar.  In 
1779  a Dutch  fleet  convoying  a number  of  The  armed 
Dutch  vessels  loaded  with  naval  supplies  had  neutrality, 
been  captured  by  the  English,  and  almost  simultane- 
ously Spain  had  seized  two  Russian  ships  laden  with 
provisions,  on  the  plea  that  their  cargoes  might  be  des- 
tined for  the  re  victualling  of  Gibraltar.  This  brought 
matters  to  a crisis,  and  the  armed  neutrality  of  the 
northern  powers  was  the  consequence.  According  to  its 
terms,  set  forth  by  Russia  in  February,  1780,  no  goods 
are  contraband,  except  arms  and  ammunition,  no  port  is 
blockaded  except  when  a sufficient  number  of  war-vessels 
make  entrance  or  exit  dangerous,  and  a neutral  flag  pro- 
tects all  goods  except  contraband,  not  only  on  the  high 
seas  but  from  port  to  port.  Spain,  France,  and  the 
United  States  all  saw  their  account  in  such  an  agreement, 
for  its  tendency  was  to  weaken  England  and  compel  a 
peace  advantageous  to  them.  The  neutral  powers  of  the 
continent  one  by  one  adopted  its  provisions,  and  assured 
thereby  a permanent  development  of  international  law. 

During  these  negotiations  William  Lee,  an  American 
agent  in  London,  who  was  at  the  same  time  a British 
merchant,  had  concerted  with  an  irregular  wiffiamLee 
commissioner  from  the  city  of  Amsterdam  ^dam  pVo- 
an  outline  for  a commercial  treaty  between  P°sal- 
the  Netherlands  and  the  United  States.  When,  in  1780, 
Henry  Laurens,  the  American  commissioner  to  negotiate 
a Dutch  loan,  was  captured  by  the  English  while  travel- 
ling to  his  post,  a draft  of  this  document  was  found 


352  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

among  his  papers.  The  Dutch  claimed  that  it  was 
purely  a personal  matter  between  two  individuals,  the 
English  that  the  paper  was  semi-official,  and  implicated 
the  whole  republic  in  an  act  hostile  to  its  ally.  Accord- 
ingly the  states  of  Holland  formally  repudiated  the  act 
of  Amsterdam.  At  the  same  time  it  was  clear  that  for 
the  protection  of  their  commerce  against  England  they 
were  about  to  join  the  league  of  northern  powers. 

The  republic  was  still  rich,  very  rich,  but  it  had  been 
enfeebled  by  a monstrous  development  of  the  commer- 
Position  of  the  cial  spirit  in  exclusive  devotion  to  gain,  and 
Netherlands,  py  internal  dissensions  under  a bad  constitu- 
tion. England  therefore  determined  to  prevent  its  ad- 
hesion to  the  new  league  by  a declaration  of  war,  and 
to  that  end  demanded  that  the  Amsterdam  authorities 
should  be  punished.  The  nature  of  the  demand  is  clear 
in  the  fact  that  Laurens,  the  second  party,  and  a prisoner 
in  their  hands,  was  neither  tried  nor  even  specially  pun- 
ished, except  in  the  severity  of  his  imprisonment.  The 
Dutch  republic  accepted  the  terms  of  the  armed  neu- 
trality on  December  24tli.  To  forestall  any  possible 
advantage  to  the  Netherlands  of  the  formal  declaration 
of  war,  which  was  to  be  made  on  the  thirtieth,  hostili- 
ties began  early  in  the  month  by  the  seizure  of  some 
two  hundred  Dutch  merchantmen,  and  the  despatch  of 
orders  to  capture  St.  Eustatius,  in  the  West  Indies,  the 
free  port  whence  America  had  during  the  early  stages 
of  the  war  obtained  such  important  supplies.  The  place 
was  seized  in  February,  but  was  shortly  recaptured  by 
the  French,  and  throughout  the  year  England’s  fortunes 
in  the  West  Indies  were  at  the  lowest  ebb.  They  did 
not  turn  until  April  12tli  in  the  following  year,  when 
Rodney’s  great  and  bloody  victory  off  Dominica  restored 
the  naval  position  of  Great  Britain,  and  by  soothing  the 
national  pride  paved  the  way  for  peace. 


THE  PEACE  OF  VERSAILLES 


353 


Such  then  was  the  situation  of  European  affairs  when 
the  news  of  Cornwallis’s  surrender  reached  London  on 
November  25,  1781,  two  days  before  the  open-  The  new8  of 
ing  of  Parliament.  Lord  North,  aware  since  Yorktown. 
1779  of  the  uselessness  of  further  bloodshed,  but  over- 
persuaded by  his  master  and  acting  contrary  to  his  con- 
victions, might  well  give  way  to  a dramatic  despair  and 
pace  the  room  with  wild  gesticulations  exclaiming,  “ It 
is  all  over.”  His  country  was  in  active  warfare  with  the 
United  States,  France,  Spain,  and  Holland,  in  passive  but 
disastrous  hostility  with  the  armed  neutrality  which  al- 
ready had  the  sympathy  of  those  powers  of  importance 
that  had  not  yet  joined  it.  At  home  the  Whigs  were  as 
bitter  in  their  opposition  as  the  long  contempt  for  liberal 
principles  shown  by  the  king  and  government  could  make 
them.  All  Europe  longed  for  peace,  and  both  to  that 
end  and  for  the  better  security  of  the  balance  of  power 
every  nation  except  Spain  desired  the  independence  of 
the  United  States.  Spain,  for  obvious  reasons,  feared  the 
extinction  of  her  rights  in  North  America  if  a great  power 
were  established  east  of  the  Mississippi. 

Nevertheless  when  a motion  calling  for  the  cessation 
of  hostilities  against  the  colonies  was  put  on  November 
27th,  it  was  lost  by  a majority,  ominous  be-  ^ of 
cause  of  its  wasted  number,  but  nevertheless  North  minis- 

try. 

a substantial  one.  The  king,  under  the  spe- 
cious plea  for  the  integrity  of  the  empire,  reasserted  his 
persistent  determination  to  carry  on  the  war.  Another 
attempt  made  by  the  liberals,  on  February  22,  1782,  to 
coerce  the  administration  also  failed,  but  the  adverse 
majority  was  only  one.  At  last,  on  March  4th,  the  rising 
tide  of  popular  feeling  found  expression  in  the  house, 
and  by  a majority  of  nineteen  it  was  declared  that  those 
attempting  to  prosecute  the  war  in  America  “for  the 
purpose  of  reducing  the  revolted  colonies  to  submis- 
23 


354  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


sion  ” would  loe  considered  enemies  to  king  and  country. 
On  March  20tli  the  ministry  resigned. 

George  m.  was  for  the  moment  overpowered  and 
stunned  as  he  saw  the  ruin  of  his  cherished  hopes  of  ex- 
state of  ert'isin8'  supreme  power  by  the  assertion  of 
English  par-  the  prerogative.  But  he  soon  regained  his 
composure,  and  with  it  his  adroitness.  The 
Whigs  were  of  three  opinions  concerning  the  essential 
questions  of  constitutional  development — one  small  fac- 
tion was  soon  to  merge  with  the  new  Tories,  another,  with 
Rockingham  at  its  head,  was  true  to  the  party  tradi- 
tion, and  a third,  represented  by  Shelburne  their  leader, 
were  the  real  liberals.  In  the  hope  probably  that  an 
equilibrium  of  only  the  most  unstable  character  would 
exist  in  the  new  cabinet,  Shelburne  was  chosen  to  form  a 
ministry.  But  the  representative  of  Chatham’s  ideas  re- 
fused to  be  caught  in  the  trap,  insisted  that  Rockingham 
be  called,  and  prevailed. 

The  task  was  delicate,  but  it  was  performed.  Thur- 
low,  the  chancellor,  was  held  over  from  the  North  ad- 
The  Rock-  ministration  ; besides  the  premier  there  were 
ingham minis-  Pox,  Cavendish,  Keppel,  and  Richmond  of  the 
old  line  ; Grafton,  Shelburne,  Camden,  Ash- 
burton, and  Conwray  of  the  new.  The  balance  of  interests 
was  too  nice  to  be  permanent,  the  members  being  hope- 
lessly divided  as  to  the  burning  question  of  parliamen- 
tary reform.  Fox,  as  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs,  was  to 
negotiate  a peace  with  the  European  powers ; Shelburne, 
as  Secretary  for  the  Colonies,  was  to  treat  with  the  Unit- 
ed States,  not  yet  recognized  officially  as  independent. 
From  the  outset  Fox  wished  to  monopolize  the  entire 
negotiation  and  drove  Shelburne  to  shifts  which  sub- 
jected both  him  and  the  Americans  to  criticism. 

When  two  years  previously  Kaunitz  was  organizing  a 
peace  convention  in  Yienna,  with  the  idea  that  Russia  and 


THE  PEACE  OF  VERSAILLES 


355 


Austria  were  to  mediate  between  England  and  the  Bour- 
bons, and  thereby  obtain  great  concessions  in  the  Orient 
and  Italy,  the  American  Congress  had  been  . 

*•  5 ° # American 

asked  by  the  French  minister  at  Philadel-  Peace  com- 

^ . . rmsBionere. 

phia  to  prepare  its  terms  and  appoint  its 
commissioners.  Accordingly  fiye  negotiators  were  elect- 
ed in  order  that  every  sectional  interest  might  be  rep- 
resented. The  men  chosen  were  John  Adams,  Jay, 
Franklin,  Jefferson,  and  the  elder  Laurens.  An  ill-con- 
cealed dislike  for  the  French  made  Adams  unwelcome 
at  Versailles,  and  he  departed  for  Holland  to  secure,  if 
possible,  a loan  from  the  Netherlands.  After  Laurens’s 
capture  he  was  accredited  as  minister,  and  though  not 
yet  received  as  such  was  still  at  The  Hague.  Jay  was 
in  Spain,  vainly  striving  to  open  negotiations  with  that 
jealous  power.  Laurens  was  a paroled  prisoner  in  Lon- 
don, and  Jefferson,  occupied  with  his  duties  as  Governor 
of  Virginia  in  repelling  the  invasion  of  Arnold  and  Corn- 
wallis, had  never  left  America.  Although  the  latter  was 
especially  appointed  plenipotentiary  in  1782  to  treat  for 
peace,  he  had  scarcely  received  his  commission  when 
news  came  that  the  negotiation  was  virtually  completed, 
the  preliminaries  having  been  concluded  by  Franklin, 
with  the  aid  of  Adams  in  Holland,  and  of  Jay,  who  had 
been  summoned  from  Madrid. 

The  terms  on  which  mediation  would  be  accepted 
were  not  definitively  formulated  in  1780,  but  left  in 
the  vaguest  shape  because  of  the  general  las-  Thg  termg 
situde  in  the  North,  and  the  earnest  desire  proposed  by 

Congress. 

on  the  part  of  the  South  to  be  rid  of  the 
scourge  under  which  its  people  were  now  writhing  af- 
ter the  war  had  been  transferred  to  the  Carolinas.  Ex- 
pressing a desire  for  the  cession  of  Canada  and  Nova 
Scotia,  the  instructions  said  their  acquisition  was  never- 
theless not  an  ultimatum.  Under  the  circumstances, 


356  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


therefore,  it  was  unavoidable  that  the  opening  stages  of 
negotiation  should  be  irregular.  In  the  sequel  it  proved 
that  the  closing  stages  must  be  equally  so. 

As  early  as  March  22,  1782,  Franklin  wrote  a letter  to 
his  old  friend  Shelburne,  expressing  satisfaction  with 
Oswald  and  the  turn  affairs  were  taking.  Almost  im- 
Frankim.  mediately,  on  April  6th,  a reply  was  de- 
spatched by  the  hand  of  a Scotch  merchant,  Oswald, 
who  owned  large  estates  in  America  and  was  a friend  of 
Adam  Smith.  The  letter  was  merely  an  introduction  of 
the  bearer  as  an  accredited  agent  to  express  the  personal 
views  of  his  principal.  Laurens  wras  meantime  released 
and  went  at  once  to  his  post,  where  he  and  Adams  re- 
mained awaiting  events,  the  latter  being  formally  re- 
ceived in  the  same  month  as  minister  to  the  States- 
General  of  the  United  Provinces.  On  the  arrival  of 
Oswald,  Franklin,  by  a letter  written  on  the  twenty-sec- 
ond, called  Jay  from  Madrid.  Parliament  had  not  as  yet 
raised  its  interdict  against  negotiating  with  the  colonies, 
and  the  introductory  communications  between  Franklin 
and  Shelburne  were  merely  tentative.  The  former  sug- 
gested the  cession  of  Canada  as  indemnity  partly  for  the 
losses  of  the  successful  patriots,  partly  to  provide  the 
American  Tories  with  estates  in  place  of  those  they  had 
lost  by  confiscation.  The  English  minister  replied  that 
such  a proposition  could  not  for  a moment  be  enter- 
tained ; on  the  contrary,  England  should  receive  an  in- 
demnity for  the  evacuation  of  Savannah,  Charleston,  and 
New  York,  which  she  still  held  ; to  that  end  the  Penob- 
scot River  might  be  made  the  eastern  boundary  of  the 
United  States. 

The  plenipotentiary  of  the  English  Foreign  Office  was 
Thomas  Grenville,  who  was  ordered  to  open  negotiations 
with  Yergennes  on  the  basis  of  yielding  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  United  States  as  part  of  the  consideration 


THE  PEACE  OF  VERSAILLES 


357 


for  which  the  Bourbons  had  been  righting.  They  indig- 
nantly repelled  the  proposal,  asserting  that  they  had 
found  the  United  States  independent.  It  had 
been  a sufficiently  amusing  turn  in  affairs  that  and6 Te r - 
Franklin  should,  as  he  did,  introduce  to  the  getmes' 
French  Minister  of  State  the  agent  of  Great  Britain,  who 
wras  a Grenville  at  that  and  son  of  a sire  who  had  pro- 
posed the  Stamp  Act,  but  he  had  no  share  in  the  absurd 
offer  thus  made.  On  the  contrary,  both  he  and  Shel- 
burne desired  that  the  negotiations  between  England  and 
her  former  colonies  should  not  be  hampered  more  than 
good  faith  required  by  the  complications  of  continental 
diplomacy.  On  receipt  of  the  news  from  Rodney  the 
cabinet,  feeling  that  the  national  self-respect  was  there- 
by regained,  formally  agreed  that  in  treating  with  France 
and  Spain  they  would  “ propose  the  independency  of 
America,  and  not  make  it  a condition  of  a general  treaty.” 

In  dealing  with  Franklin  and  Jay,  Fox  would  gladly 
have  made  the  same  arrangement,  in  order  to  transfer 
the  conduct  of  affairs  to  his  own  department. 

A like  spirit  was  shown  by  Grenville,  who,  postin'  "the 
although  accredited  only  to  France,  busied  ueg0tiatl0n- 
himself  in  trying  to  learn  from  Franklin  the  American 
proposals,  but  failed,  and  turning  to  Oswald  extorted  a 
half  knowledge  of  the  facts.  In  a letter  to  Fox  he  com- 
municated his  misleading  information,  aspersing  the 
character  of  Shelburne’s  agent,  and  the  minister,  failing 
to  comprehend  the  real  truth,  became  more  persistent  in 
his  purpose  to  force  a recognition  of  independence.  It 
was  a curious  web  of  cross-purposes  that  Shelburne,  a 
friend  of  America,  should  delay  the  acknowledgment  of 
independence  that  he  might  in  the  end  propose  the  best 
terms,  while  Fox,  with  no  real  difference  in  policy,  should 
strive  to  hasten  it  that  he  might  serve  his  own  ambition 
without  regard  to  ultimate  terms  ; that  Vergennes,  who 


358  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


had  the  interests  of  France  in  mind,  should  insist  on  it 
as  a preliminary  while  cherishing  as  his  dearest  purpose 
a limitation  of  the  American  territory  to  the  narrowest 
possible  bounds ; that  Franklin,  because  of  his  loyalty  to 
Fi'ance,  should  deprecate  hasty  action  in  separating  from 
Vergennes,  while  Jay,  with  the  keen  vision  of  a new- 
comer, saw  that  he  must  be  urgent  to  forestall  the  scheme 
of  the  French  minister,  which,  when  he  reached  Paris  on 
June  23d,  he  almost  instantly  detected.  The  English 
cabinet,  however,  refused  to  sustain  Fox,  and  as  a con- 
sequence he  resigned  on  June  30th.  The  disintegration 
of  the  ministry  was  completed  by  the  sudden  death  of 
the  prime  minister  on  the  day  after.  During  the  few 
months  of  its  existence  the  Rockingham  government  had 
done  a wondrous  work ; giving  legislative  independence 
to  Ireland,  now  rapidly  following  the  American  example 
of  rebellion  ; striking  the  shackles  off  Irish  trade ; carry- 
ing through  a bill  for  the  economic  reform  of  govern- 
ment ; making  prominent  the  distasteful  question  of  par- 
liamentary reform,  and  opening  an  avenue  to  the  ulti- 
mate triumph  in  England  itself  of  the  liberal  principles 
for  which  her  colonies  had  so  successfully  striven. 

Persistent  in  his  old  policy  of  dividing  parties  and 
forming  cabinets  as  weak  as  possible,  the  king  sum- 
moned Shelburne,  although  the  Duke  of 
burned  minis-  Portland  was  the  heir  to  Rockingham’s  posi- 
try'  tion  as  leader  of  the  old  Whigs.  Of  this  fac- 

tion the  majority  now  adhered  to  the  Tories,  although  a 
considerable  number  came  over  to  the  rising  liberalism 
represented  by  Shelburne  under  the  leadership  of  the 
Duke  of  Richmond,  who  was  retained  along  with  Keppel. 
William  Pitt  succeeded  Cavendish  as  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  Shelburne  himself  was  First  Lord  of  the  Treas- 
ury, and  Thomas  Townshend  was  appointed  to  the  post 
of  Secretary  for  the  Colonies,  while  Lord  Grantham  be- 


THE  PEACE  OF  VERSAILLES 


359 


came  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs.  The  composition  of 
the  ministry  was  in  some  measure  the  work  of  the  king, 
and  Shelburne,  though  a sincere  and  consistent  believer 
in  reform,  was  at  the  time  suspected  by  many  of  having 
been  dazzled  by  royal  favor  because  he  upheld  the  rights 
of  the  crown  and  people  against  the  assumptions  of  the 
aristocracy.  There  was  no  truth  in  the  insinuation,  and 
now  that  he  was  assured  of  control,  Parliament  proceeded 
to  pass  an  act  enabling  the  government  to  treat  with  the 
United  States  not  as  thirteen  separate  colonies,  which 
they  had  hitherto  been  in  the  letter  of  English  law,  but 
as  a single  power,  under  the  style  of  the  Thirteen  United 
States.  Grenville  had,  of  course,  resigned,  and  the  pow- 
ers of  Oswald  were  modified  according  to  the  new  for- 
mula. 

The  only  obstacle  to  completing  the  treaty  was  Jay’s 
feeling  that  independence  ought  to  be  recognized  by  a 
proclamation,  which  should  at  the  same  time  posjt;onof  Jay 
order  the  evacuation  of  the  harbor  cities  of  and  Adams. 
America  still  held  by  English  forces.  This  gave  rise  to 
dangerous  delay.  A compromise  was  finally  proposed, 
but  not  immediately  accepted,  by  which  the  preamble  to 
the  treaty  should  definitely  and  emphatically  recognize 
independence  without  reference  to  the  adoption  or  re- 
jection of  other  portions.  Negotiations  were  thus  pro- 
longed until  September,  1782,  when  Townshend  yielded, 
explaining,  however,  that  the  formal  authorization  must 
await  an  act  of  Parliament.  Jay  stood  firm  in  his  de- 
mand, even  at  the  risk  of  the  indefinite  delay  whereby 
success  was  jeopardized.  Meantime  the  question  arose 
of  how  far  the  American  commissioners  must  be  bound 
by  their  instructions  from  Congress  to  act  in  concert 
with  France  and  keep  equal  step  with  Vergennes  in  the 
negotiations.  Though  indifferent  to  the  complications 
of  English  politics,  Jay  and  Adams  clearly  understood 


360  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


the  situation  in  France.  The  latter,  negotiating  with  the 
Netherlands  for  the  recognition  of  American  indepen- 
dence, was  still  resident  at  The  Hague,  although  chief  of 
the  commission  to  treat  with  England  ; but  he  shared  as 
far  as  possible  in  the  councils  of  his  colleagues.  Both 
he  and  Jay  were  concerned  for  the  end,  without  regard 
to  their  instructions,  which  being  virtually  dictated  by 
Luzerne,  the  French  minister  at  Philadelphia,  were  suf- 
ficiently timorous.  They  had  been  passed  by  Congress 
on  June  15th,  1781,  and,  directing  the  American  agents  to 
be  confidential  with  the  French  Government,  instruct- 
ed them  “ ultimately  ” to  be  governed  by  its  advice  and 
opinion.  They  were  repeated  by  formal  vote  in  Octo- 
ber, 1782,  too  late  to  reach  the  commissioners,  who  had 
gladly  forgotten  them. 

Franklin  felt  that  the  end  could  better  be  secured  by 
obeying  the  instructions  and  yielding  in  matters  of  de- 
Frankiin’s  at-  6iil  to  hasten  the  conclusion  of  business  be- 

titude.  fore  a new  cabinet  crisis  in  England  could 
possibly  endanger  it.  He  seems  to  have  thought  suf- 
ficient Oswald’s  first  indefinite  commission  “to  treat 
with  the  colonies  and  with  any  or  either  of  them,  with 
any  description  of  men  in  them,  of  and  concerning 
peace,”  and  with  stalwart  good  faith  insisted  on  keeping 
Yergennes  informed  not  of  confidential  detail  but  of  the 
fact  of  negotiation  ; his  colleagues  were  of  another  mind 
and  determined  to  disregard  the  French  interest  for  the 
sake  of  what  they  thought  the  highest  principle,  the  in- 
dependence and  dignity  of  America,  without  regard  to 
her  treaty  engagement,  which  many,  moreover,  consid- 
ered cancelled  in  international  law  by  the  French  alli- 
ance with  Spain. 

Yergennes  had  informed  Grenville  that  the  English 
demand  for  restitution  of  conquests  could  not  be  con- 
sidered ; that  in  1756  his  country  fought  for  boundaries 


THE  PEACE  OF  VERSAILLES 


361 


on  the  Ohio  and  in  Maine,  but  by  the  peace  of  1763 
had  kept  all  of  New  France  ; that  while  in  the  present 
war  France  had  primarily  fought  for  Ameri-  The  wigheg  of 
can  independence,  she  had  in  the  course  of  Vergennes. 
events  contracted  other  obligations  and  would  keep  all 
she  had  gained  ; that  consequently  the  question  of  inde- 
pendence was  confined  to  England  and  the  United  States. 
But  this  was  antecedent  to  Rodney’s  victory  over  De 
Grasse,  and  on  September  13th,  1783,  the  famous  three 
years’  siege  of  Gibraltar  by  France  and  Spain,  conducted 
against  Eliott  by  D’ Arcon,  whose  floating  batteries  could 
“neither  be  burnt,  sunk,  nor  taken,”  ended  in  disaster  to 
the  Bourbon  cause.  The  moral  effect  of  these  reverses 
changed  Vergennes’s  attitude  radically.  Liberal  Eng- 
land was  now  in  power  and  well  disposed  toward  liberal- 
ism in  America.  To  reknit  the  questions  of  American  in- 
dependence and  co-operation  in  negotiation  with  his  own 
interest  would  be  a great  gain,  and  if  at  the  same  time  he 
could  appease  Spain  by  limiting  the  territories  ceded  to 
the  United  States,  he  would  score  a diplomatic  triumph. 
His  position  was,  that  by  the  treaty  of  1778  his  country 
sought  the  independence  of  the  United  States  within 
their  colonial  limits,  but  he  would  be  willing  to  divide 
the  great  Western  lands  between  the  United  States,  Eng- 
land, and  Spain.  The  fisheries  on  the  Banks  he  main- 
tained belonged  to  England  and  France  ; independent 
America  must  renounce  her  colonial  share  in  that  source 
of  wealth  and  training-school  of  seamen.  The  attitude 
W'as  exactly  that  of  an  adroit  craftsman  who  regarded,  as 
many  French  writers  still  do,  the  American  Revolution 
as  but  a phase  of  the  perennial  struggle  of  England  and 
France  for  supremacy  in  the  West.  It  was  distinctly 
hostile  to  the  interests  of  a groping  but  conscious  de- 
mocracy, with  a manifest  destiny  for  united  action  to 
secure  the  Western  hemisphere  for  free  institutions. 


362  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


Franklin  had  informed  Oswald  in  July  what  the  condi- 
tions of  peace  would  be  : first,  the  acknowledgment  of  in- 
Secret  mission  dependence ; second,  the  frontier  on  the  Cana- 
of  Eaynevai.  (pau  side  to  be  as  it  was  before  the  passage  of 
the  Quebec  act,  and  on  the  west  to  the  Mississippi ; third, 
participation  in  the  fisheries.  On  the  change  of  minis- 
try Shelburne  sent  Yaughan,  a friend  of  Franklin’s,  to 
assure  him  that  there  would  be  no  change  of  policy. 
Oswald’s  new  commission  came  on  July  17th,  and  Frank- 
lin certainly  thought  this  one  “would  do,”  as  Vergennes 
did  also.  Jay’s  position  has  been  stated.  At  this  junct- 
ure the  French  minister  entered  on  a course  of  double 
dealing.  The  motives  are  uncertain,  but  the  facts  are 
clear  and  seem  capable  of  but  one  interpretation.  During 
the  late  summer  Marbois,  secretary  of  the  French  legation 
in  Philadelphia,  wrote  a letter  which  was  intercepted  by 
the  English  and  communicated  to  Jay.  It  proved  to  be 
a plea  against  America  sharing  in  the  fisheries.  On  Sep- 
tember 15th  Rayneval,  a former  agent  of  the  French  Gov- 
ernment in  America,  received  from  Vergennes  formal  in- 
structions to  proceed  secretly  to  London  and  demand 
for  Spain  either  Gibraltar  or  a compensation  for  it,  but 
to  refuse  if  questioned  to  engage  in  conversation  con- 
cerning American  affairs.  Jay  suspected  what  is  now 
known,  that  there  was  something  behind  this,  and  Ray- 
neval, in  1795,  confessed  that  he  was  also  to  learn  the 
truth  concerning  certain  overtures  made  to  De  Grasse. 
It  is  also  known  that  he  “ expressed  a strong  opinion,” 
in  his  interview  with  Shelburne  and  Grantham,  “ against 
the  American  claims  to  the  fisheries  and  to  the  valleys  of 
the  Ohio  and  Mississippi.” 

By  this  time  Vaughan  had  become  the  confidential 
friend  of  Jay.  Without  the  knowledge  or  concurrence 
of  Franklin  he  was  prevailed  on  to  accept  a mission  to 
Shelburne,  and  convey  to  him  the  considerations  which 


THE  PEACE  OF  VERSAILLES 


363 


should  influence  Great  Britain  in  treating  with  Amer- 
ica. She  could  not  conquer  and  ought  therefore  to 
conciliate  ; the  United  States  would  not  treat  Jay,s  propo_ 
except  on  an  equal  footing,  and  it  might  be  to  sals- 
the  interest  of  France,  hut  was  not  to  that  of  England, 
to  postpone  independence  until  a general  peace.  Amer- 
ica would  not  make  peace  without  the  fisheries,  and  would 
be  so  irritated  by  exclusion  from  navigating  the  Missis- 
sippi that  the  peace  if  made  would  be  little  more  than  a 
truce.  Jay  also  thought  that  there  should  be  reciproc- 
ity in  trade  and  commerce.  West  Florida  should  not 
be  left  in  Spanish  hands,  as  endangering  the  trade  of 
both  countries.  England  was  to  share  the  free  naviga- 
tion of  the  inland  waters  and  the  great  river,  “which,” 
wrote  Jay,  “would  in  future  be  no  less  important  to 
Great  Britain  than  to  us.” 

Shelburne  had  once  before  determined  to  divide  the 
Americans  from  their  allies.  Then  it  was  to  gain  a 
tactical  advantage  over  Fox,  now  the  oppor-  Final  ne„otia_ 
tunity  would  give  him  a tactical  advantage  tions- 
over  France  and  was  irresistible.  Vaughan  returned  to 
Paris  on  September  27th  with  a new  commission  for 
Oswald  on  the  lines  suggested,  authorizing  him  to  treat 
with  the  ministers  of  the  United  States.  Franklin  and 
Jay  proceeded  at  once,  and  in  perfect  harmony,  to  fur- 
ther negotiations,  but  without  consulting  Vergennes. 
On  October  5th  Jay  completed  his  draft  of  prelimina- 
ries, which  Oswald  at  once  forwarded  to  London.  Adams, 
having  concluded  a treaty  with  the  Netherlands,  arrived 
in  Paris  on  October  25th,  and  disregarding  diplomatic 
formalities  made  no  visit  to  the  king’s  minister  until 
some  days  had  elapsed,  permitting  the  public  prints 
to  announce  his  presence.  He  believed  that  Luzerne 
was  plotting  in  Congress  for  his  removal,  and  felt  even 
less  love  for  Frenchmen  and  things  French  than  he  had 


364  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

done  before.  Almost  simultaneously  came  the  results 
of  Shelburne’s  deliberation.  They  were  at  variance  in 
some  important  respects  with  the  draft,  and  Strachey,  the 
Under  Secretary  of  State,  was  sent  to  enforce  the  par- 
ticulars of  the  English  contention. 

The  negotiations  which  ensued  lasted  until  the  end  of 
November.  They  turned  chiefly  on  the  point  of  whether 
Character  of  or  n°t  American  merchants  must  pay  for  the 
the  treaty.  gOOCjs  they  had  purchased  before  the  war,  and 
on  the  question  of  compensation  to  the  American  Tories 
for  the  confiscation  of  their  estates.  Franklin  felt  that 
as  the  British  armies  had  in  great  part  destroyed  the 
goods  for  which  pay  was  demanded,  England  should  in- 
demnify her  own  citizens.  The  king  of  England  thought 
that  the  honor  of  his  throne  was  concerned  in  securing 
reimbursement  to  the  loyalists  for  their  losses.  The 
British  negotiators  gained  the  first  demand  entirely,  in 
answer  to  the  second  they  obtained  merely  a promise 
that  Congress  would  recommend  the  policy  to  the  States. 
The  main  points  as  to  independence  and  the  boundaries 
were  freely  conceded,  but  while  Adams  secured  a fairly 
definite  line  for  the  northeast  border,  that  of  the  west 
was  left,  unfortunately,  vague  and  general.  At  a future 
time  it  was  found  that  deficient  geographical  knowledge 
had  made  necessary  a survey  and  readjustment  of  the 
entire  boundary.  The  Americans  were  to  enjoy  the 
same  rights  in  the  fisheries  which  they  had  had  as  Eng- 
lish colonists  ; but  while  they  might  dry  their  fish  on  other 
unsettled  shores  they  might  not  do  so  on  those  of  New- 
foundland ; at  the  same  time  they  secured  the  exclusive 
right  of  fishing  on  their  own  coasts.  Jay’s  proposition 
for  reciprocity  in  commerce  and  trade  was  rejected,  but 
England  retained  the  equal  privilege  with  the  United 
States  of  navigating  the  Mississippi,  which  separated 
them  from  the  Spanish  possessions,  and  had  no  natural 


THE  PEACE  OF  VERSAILLES 


365 


geographical  connection  with  those  of  Great  Britain. 
There  were  two  blots  on  the  pages  of  the  remarkable 
document  thus  outlined  : one,  the  suggestion  implied  in 
the  enumeration  by  name  of  the  Thirteen  States,  that 
the  United  States  were  not  a nation  ; the  other,  a virtual 
recognition  of  slavery.  Laurens  had  been  exchanged  for 
Cornwallis,  and  appeared  at  the  last  moment  to  insist  on 
a provision  that,  when  the  English  evacuated  American 
soil  they  should  not  carry  away  “any  negroes  or  other 
property  of  the  inhabitants.”  There  was  one  secret 
clause  determining  the  southern  boundary  in  case  Eng- 
land should  recover  West  Florida  by  her  treaty  with 
Spain.  The  commissioners  affixed  their  signatures  to 
these  preliminary  articles  on  November  30th,  1782,  but 
with  the  understanding  that  the  treaty  was  not  to  be 
concluded  until  after  the  general  pacification,  in  which 
Spain,  France,  and  Holland  were  also  concerned. 

It  is  customary  to  look  upon  the  work  thus  accom- 
plished as  a triumph  of  American  diplomacy.  Since  the 
Staten  Island  conference  in  1776,  America  T h e fjenera1 
had  insisted  on  the  recognition  of  her  in-  pacmcation' 
dependence  as  preliminary  to  any  negotiation.  Adams 
and  Jay  were  the  successful  agents  in  securing  that  con- 
cession. France  and  Spain  earnestly  desired  to  limit 
American  territory  on  the  west  by  the  Alleghenies.  The 
violation  of  instructions  from  Congress,  in  which  the  same 
two  commissioners  were  chiefly  concerned,  thwarted  Ver- 
gennes  and  prevented  such  a disaster.  Secrecy  would 
nevertheless  have  availed  little  but  for  the  good-will  of 
England,  which  though  defeated  in  America  was  triumph- 
ant over  the  Bourbon  powers  in  the  successes  of  Bodney 
and  Eliott,  and  now  meant  to  use  American  indepen- 
dence for  the  purpose  of  diminishing  the  claims  sure  to 
be  made  by  Spain.  The  intermediate  stages  of  the  ne- 
gotiation were  incontestably  the  work  of  Jay  and  Adams. 


366  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


What  they  might  have  resulted  in  except  for  the  begin- 
ning and  end,  both  which  were  the  work  of  Franklin,  can- 
not be  estimated.  His  colleagues  were  the  statesmen 
and  politicians,  standing  out  for  American  claims  and 
detecting  the  schemes  of  Yergennes  ; he  was  the  states- 
man and  diplomatist,  opening  the  way  by  his  first  ex- 
orbitant demand  for  acquiring  the  territories  actually 
secured,  turning  the  position  of  England  in  regard  to 
the  restitution  of  estates  by  gravely  suggesting  a com- 
mission to  estimate  the  value  of  American  property  de- 
stroyed in  what  the  English  Whigs  always  described  as 
a wanton  and  unjust  war,  and  finally  appearing  before 
Vergennes  with  a copy  of  the  preliminaries  to  forestall 
his  accusations  of  ingratitude  and  bad  faith  by  the  plain, 
truthful,  and  convincing  statement  that  he  and  his  col- 
leagues were  guilty  of  neither,  but  only  of  diplomatic 
discourtesy.  With  no  disparagement  to  the  merits  of 
all  three,  who  were  great  and  able  each  in  his  way,  the 
fact  in  the  last  analysis  appears  to  be  that  the  terms  ob- 
tained were  due  directly  both  to  Yorktown  and  to  dip- 
lomatic craft,  but  indirectly  and  mainly  to  the  flood-tide 
of  the  libera]  and  just  views  held  by  most  Americans 
and  many  influential  Englishmen.  Shelburne  and  Frank- 
lin were  men  representative  of  a public  virtue  which  was 
rising  higher  and  higher  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  was  eventually  to  submerge  the  wrecks  and 
derelicts  of  both  mediaeval  aristocracy  and  modern  ab- 
solutism. 

That  this  was  largely  true  was  proven  by  subsequent 
events.  Savannah  and  Charleston  were  evacuated  in 
Fail  of  Shei-  1782,  the  former  in  July,  the  latter  in  De- 
mme’s minis-  cember.  The  formal  cessation  of  hostilities 
between  England  and  America  occurred  in 
January.  1783,  and  was  officially  proclaimed  by  Congress 
on  April  19th,  eight  years  after  Concord.  The  prelim- 


THE  PEACE  OF  VERSAILLES 


367 


inaries  of  peace,  between  Great  Britain  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  continental  allies  on  the  other,  were  signed 
on  the  twentieth  of  the  same  month,  in  the  presence  of 
Franklin  and  Adams,  and  the  American  preliminaries 
now  became  a treaty  in  fact.  Simultaneously  Holland 
and  England  concluded  a truce.  But  the  final  and  for- 
mal termination  of  the  war  was  not  reached  until  the 
following  September,  when  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the 
powers  concerned  met  at  Versailles  and  signed  what  is 
known  as  the  treaty  of  Versailles  and  Paris.  According 
to  its  terms  France  received  Tobago  and  Senegal ; Spain 
was  compelled  to  relinquish  all  hope  of  Gibraltar,  ob- 
taining only  the  retrocession  of  Minorca  and  Florida. 
The  clauses  arranged  between  England  and  the  United 
States  in  the  previous  November  were  of  course  incor- 
porated. 

The  reason  for  this  long  delay  was  not  in  one  sense  a 
resurgence  of  conservative  influence.  Vergennes,  if  in- 
deed he  were  really  grieved,  was  easily  pacified,  for  a few 
days  after  Franklin’s  interview  communicating  the  con- 
clusion of  negotiations  on  the  part  of  England  and  the 
United  States,  France  acceded  to  the  request  of  Congress 
and  granted  a new  loan  of  six  millions  of  francs,  to  cover 
the  expenditures  of  1783.  When  the  question  of  ratify- 
ing the  American  treaty  was  brought  before  Parliament, 
in  December,  it  was  selected  by  the  Conservatives  and 
the  malcontent  Whigs  as  a means  of  overthrowing  Shel- 
burne. Many  thought  the  concessions  too  great,  the 
king  could  not  dismiss  his  feeling  of  bitterness  that  the 
empire  was  dismembered  and  no  certain  provision  made 
for  the  loyalists.  Lord  North  wanted  a monopoly  of 
lake  navigation  and  an  independent  Indian  state,  Burke 
showered  invective  on  the  ministry  and  their  measures. 
The  only  defender  of  the  treaty  in  the  Commons  was 
William  Pitt.  Similar  considerations  were  advanced  in 


368  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


the  upper  house,  and  Shelburne  could  not  withstand 
the  torrent.  The  ministry  resigned  on  December  24th, 
and  the  fate  of  the  treaty  was  in  the  balance.  By  what 
seemed  a disgraceful  coalition  between  the  Tories  and 
old  Whigs  the  notorious  ministry  of  North  and  Fox  was 
formed,  but  only  after  days  of  straggle  and  under  the 
displeasure  of  the  king,  who  looked  on  North  as  a trait- 
orous deserter  and  on  Fox  as  an  enemy. 

The  much-abused  coalition  was  not  a mere  accident 
of  party  government.  It  stood  for  something.  By  a 
The  coal-:-  curious  subversion  and  rearrangement  Shel- 
tion  ministry.  purne’s  opinions  favored  in  part  a return  to 
the  old  order  and  an  active  participation  of  the  crown 
in  government.  Fox,  on  the  other  hand,  held  to  the  no- 
tion of  a continuous  historical  development  of  parlia- 
mentary supremacy,  and  the  gradual  extinction  of  the 
crown  even  as  a regulative  force.  No  one  had  more  rea- 
son to  support  this  position  than  North.  Shelburne’s 
remedy  for  the  existing  conditions  was  what  has  since 
been  known  as  parliamentary  reform  by  the  extension 
of  the  suffrage,  so  as  to  secure  a real  representation  of 
the  people  and  thus  counterbalance  the  powder  of  the 
crown.  The  remedy  of  Burke  and  Fox  was  the  system 
of  so-called  economic  reform,  whereby  privilege  was  to 
be  maintained  in  the  aristocracy,  lawyers,  and  mer- 
chants, while  the  evils  of  place  and  patronage  were  to 
be  abolished  and  a retrenchment  in  the  public  finances 
thereby  secured. 

The  practical  result  of  Fox’s  temporary  victory  was 
unfortunate  for  the  United  States.  The  old  Whigs  stood 
firm  on  the  Navigation  Acts  in  order  to  se- 
cation  of  the  cure  the  world’s  carrying  trade  for  England, 
tlClty'  and  wrere,  of  course,  supported  by  the  mer- 

cantile classes.  For  this  end  a commission  was  promptly 
despatched  to  Paris  in  order  to  negotiate  a commercial 


THE  PEACE  OF  VERSAILLES 


369 


treaty  with  the  American  ministers,  which  would  retain 
for  England,  by  the  same  interference  with  freedom  of 
trade  which  had  so  far  been  her  policy,  the  monstrous 
monopoly  she  was  losing.  The  skill,  insight,  and  true 
greatness  of  the  three  American  commissioners  foiled  the 
plan.  They  were  not  overawed  by  the  dangers  of  delay 
nor  by  a menace  of  failure,  and  the  treaty  ratified  at  Ver- 
sailles in  December  was  the  same  they  had  made.  But 
in  the  long  months  which  had  elapsed  between  Oswald’s 
first  mission  and  the  final  authoritative  adoption  of  the 
preliminaries,  most  serious  harm  was  nevertheless  done- 
The  old  bad  elements  of  English  conservatism  had  reas- 
serted themselves  as  a power,  the  seeds  of  ill-will  be- 
tween the  two  English  nations  were  prematurely  sown, 
and  the  harvest,  which  the  newer  people  reaped  in  the 
first  twenty-five  years  of  national  existence  made  neces- 
sary a second  war  for  independence  before  they  were 
strong  enough  to  fight  it. 

34 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


WEAKNESS  AND  STRENGTH 

American  Independence  and  European  Politics — The  Former  and 
Later  Generations — The  American  Navy — Its  Achievement— 
Its  Gradual  Diminution — Privateering — Morris  and  the  Fi- 
nances— Expense  of  the  War — Congress  and  the  Army — Wash- 
ington Allays  the  Discontent — The  Army  Disbanded — The  Cin- 
cinnati— Washington’s  Political  Insight — The  Southern  States 
— The  Middle  States— Their  Occupations  and  Educational  In- 
stitutions— New  England — Massachusetts  and  Virginia — Char- 
acter of  the  Revolution — Effect  on  Ecclesiastical  Movements — 
Slavery — Tendencies  toward  Union  in  State  Administrations — 
Importance  of  the  New  Forces — Literature  of  the  Revolution 
— Signs  of  a National  Spirit— Political  Writers — The  New  So- 
ciety. 

In  speculating  as  to  wliat  might  have  been,  it  seems 
likely  that  as  European  politics  were  in  these  years  so 
American  complicated  and  arranged  as  to  throw  all  the 
and  European  continent  in  the  scale  against  England,  and 
politics.  as  Engiis;h  politics  were  so  developing  as  to 
create  a true  liberal  party  which  was  steadily  a friend 
to  American  liberalism,  we  could  by  the  vigorous  use  of 
our  resources  have  won  our  independence  without  for- 
eign assistance.  In  the  beginning  we  proved  our  capac- 
ity and  displayed  our  resources.  But  in  fact  it  was  to 
the  French,  our  faithful  and  loyal  allies  to  the  end,  that 
we  owed  ultimate  success  in  the  actual  conflict,  and  it 
was  through  the  adroit  use  of  European  diplomacy  and 
party  politics  that  we  obtained  the  favorable  terms  of 
peace  which  gave  us  a national  territory  in  spite  of  sec- 
tional prejudices. 


"WEAKNESS  AND  STRENGTH 


371 


The  contemplation  of  weakness,  vacillation,  ancl  luke- 
warmness displayed  at  one  time  or  another  in  every  dis- 
trict and  by  all  classes  except  the  one  which 
was  composed  of  a few  steadfast  leaders  with  and  later  gen- 
their  devoted  followers,  should  overthrow  that  crJtlon*' 
view  of  our  history  which  refers  everything  good  to  the 
forefathers  and  everything  bad  to  their  successors.  Es- 
timating the  men  of  that  day  in  the  light  of  their  times 
we  may  well  be  proud  of  them,  but  we  should  also  re- 
member that  what  they  began  in  imperfection  has  been 
preserved  by  at  least  equal  wisdom  and  equal  fortitude 
both  in  war  and  peace  ; that  the  stability  of  the  small 
beginning  has  been  secured  in  a structure  large  beyond 
their  visions,  built  by  architects  at  least  as  capable  as 
they  and  perhaps  as  creative,  for  the  federal  state  as  we 
have  it  was  probably  not  in  their  minds  at  all.  The 
Constitution  even  was  in  part  the  work  of  a generation 
which  did  not  begin  the  Revolution,  and  has  by  the  in- 
terpretation of  still  later  ones  been  steadily  adapted  to 
conditions  not  foreseen. 

Throughout  the  struggle  thus  brought  to  a close  there 
had  been  naval  warfare,  both  regular  and  irregular,  which 
was  in  some  ways  of  very  great  importance.  The  American 
Reprisals  for  the  depredations  of  English  nayy- 
revenue  cutters  and  warships  began  in  Narragansett  Bay 
and  were  continuous  thenceforward.  Washington  gave 
the  broadest  interpretation  to  his  first  commission,  and 
sent  authorized  vessels  to  prey  on  English  shipping. 
Massachusetts  soon  had  a little  fleet  of  six  ships  afloat. 
The  example  thus  set  was  quickly  followed  by  private 
enterpiT.se  in  nearly  every  State.  Vessels  were  over- 
hauled, prisoners  taken,  and  stores  captured.  By  the 
middle  and  end  of  1776  Congress  had  a navy  of  its  own 
numbering  thirteen  ships  ; five  of  thirty-two  guns,  five 
of  twenty-eight,  and  three  of  twenty-four. 


372  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


The  officers  of  the  new  naval  power  were  men  of  en- 
ergy and  skill  in  their  profession.  But  they  had  a diffi- 
its  achieve-  cult  task,  and  sometimes  by  the  complica- 
ment-  tions  of  international  law  fell  into  strange 
plights  in  their  attempts  to  dispose  of  their  prizes  be- 
fore the  French  alliance  was  consummated.  But  in  spite 
of  all  discouragements  the  services  of  men  like  Jones, 
Biddle,  and  Wickes  were  invaluable  both  in  encouraging 
their  compatriots  and  in  the  actual  gains  they  made. 
English  merchants  were  first  stunned  and  then  terrified 
by  deeds  like  the  sally  of  Conyngham  from  Dunkirk,  in 
which  he  captured  the  Harwich  packet,  irregular  as  his 
act  may  have  been.  In  two  years,  eight  hundred  English 
vessels  were  seized. 

By  1778  eight  of  the  fleet  of  Congress  were  either 
taken  or  destroyed,  and  four  new  ships  were  commis- 
Its  gradual  sioned  to  supply  their  places.  By  that  time, 
diminution,  however,  a powerful  French  fleet  was  in  Amer- 
ican waters.  Jones’s  exploits  have  elsewhere  been  re- 
ferred to.  Simultaneously  one  English  store-ship  after 
another  was  captured  this  side  the  sea,  and  not  without 
hard  fighting,  by  such  American  officers  as  Manly,  Hop- 
kins, Hallett,  and  Williams.  The  disastrous  failure  of 
the  Massachusetts  enterprise  against  Castine  brought 
the  American  navy  to  the  verge  of  ruin.  Thenceforward 
the  regular  warfare  against  England  by  sea  was  virtually 
earned  on  by  the  French.  Two  American  frigates,  how- 
ever, the  Congress  and  Alliance,  won  laurels  until  the 
end  of  the  war. 

But  privateering  assumed  dimensions  which  are  now 
difficult  correctly  to  estimate,  so  untrustworthy  are  local 
records  and  so  absurd  the  notions  of  different 
writers.  The  official  records  at  the  national 
capital  are,  however,  certainly  accurate  as  far  as  they  go, 
and  they  probably  cover  most  of  the  facts.  From  them 


Privateering. 


WEAKNESS  AND  STRENGTH 


373 


it  appears  that  about  fifteen  hundred  and  sixty-eight 
public  and  private  armed  vessels  were  fitted  out  in  the 
United  States  between  1776  and  1783.  Of  these  more 
than  half  were  from  New  England.  In  the  list  of  States 
Massachusetts  leads  with  five  hundred  and  eight,  Penn- 
sylvania follows  with  four  hundred  and  seventy-nine. 
Then  come  in  order  Maryland,  Connecticut,  each  with 
less  than  two  hundred,  New  Hampshire  with  nearly  a 
hundred.  The  list  then  runs — Virginia,  Rhode  Island, 
New  York,  South  Carolina,  New  Jersey,  and  North  Caro- 
lina, with  from  five  to  twenty-five  each.  The  successes 
of  the  privateersmen  were  enormous,  and  such  were  the 
profits  of  adventurers  and  owners  that  New  England  was 
never  more  prosperous  in  its  entire  history  than  during 
the  last  years  of  the  Revolution,  while  some  Philadelphia 
merchants  amassed  fortunes.  It  is  estimated  that  as 
high  as  seventy  thousand  American  sailors  were  afloat  at 
one  time  engaged  in  the  struggle  with  England,  either 
as  regulars  or  privateersmen.  There  was  probably  one 
year,  1776,  in  which  at  various  times  ninety  thousand 
Continental  soldiers  and  militia  were  in  service  or  at 
least  enrolled,  but  in  general  the  numbers  of  the  Ameri- 
can land  force  did  not  reach  fifty  thousand. 

When  Congress,  in  1781,  determined  to  substitute  a 
single  head  for  each  of  its  most  important  committees, 
Robert  Morris  was  made  the  financial  agent  Morris  and  the 
of  the  confederation.  He  committed  the  un-  fiancee, 
certain  and  timid  body  of  which  he  was  a member  to  a 
temporary  policy  of  strong  union  by  seeming  the  char- 
ter of  a national  bank  with  four  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars capital.  Massachusetts  alone  resisted.  By  adroit 
manipulations  and  powerful  energy  the  plan  succeeded, 
at  least  while  it  had  the  support  of  Congress,  and  its 
author  was  emboldened  to  suggest  federal  taxation  in 
the  shape  of  contributions  from  excise  imports  and  land. 


374  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


Momentarily  there  was  a prospect  that  the  United  States, 
with  their  wealth  and  prosperity  scarcely  checked  by  the 
war,  would  be  completely  solvent  and  meet  all  their  ob- 
ligations. The  Middle  States  were  brought  in  some  de- 
gree to  terms,  but  neither  the  East  nor  South  could 
overcome  their  original  repugnance  to  pay. 

The  total  cost  of  the  war  made  an  average  annual  ex- 
penditure of  twenty  millions  of  hard  dollars.  First  and 
Expenses  of  last  the  country  received  from  France,  Sjjain, 
the  war.  anc[  Holland  about  twelve  millions,  of  which 
nearly  two  and  a half  were  gifts  from  France  and  Spain. 
At  the  peace  there  was  a public  debt  of  between  nine  and 
ten  millions,  of  which  seven  were  owing  to  France,  two 
to  Holland,  and  the  rest  to  Spain.  The  remainder  of  the 
immense  expenditure  for  the  war,  a proportion  of  nearly 
five-sixths,  was  really  borne  by  the  people,  though  in  the 
most  irregular  way,  the  losses  by  the  utter  extinction  of 
value  in  continental  paper  generally  falling  upon  the  pa- 
triots and  the  poor.  Congress  disbursed  about  two- 
thirds,  the  separate  States  about  a third  of  the  total. 
As  to  the  public  debt,  Franklin  made  an  arrangement 
by  which  the  arrearages  of  interest  were  forgiven  by  our 
generous  ally,  and  the  principal  was  to  be  repaid  in 
yearly  instalments,  to  begin  three  years  after  the  peace. 

In  spite  of  its  great  services,  Congress  at  the  close  of 
the  war  was  held  in  no  esteem  whatever.  Its  career 
Congress  and  had  been  one  of  compromises  to  such  an  ex- 
the  army.  tent  that  the  people  at  large,  with  a too  com- 
mon inconsistency,  despised  them  for  pursuing  a course 
initiated  rather  by  the  delegates  than  by  public  opinion, 
but  supported  at  a later  time  by  a general  resurrection 
of  local  jealousy.  The  situation  was  made  acute  by  the 
fact  that  promises  of  pay  to  the  army  had  not  been  kept. 
The  American  seafarers  during  the  war  seem  to  have 
been  satisfied  with  their  own  self-help,  and  well  they 


WEAKNESS  AND  STRENGTH 


375 


iniglit  be  if  balf  of  what  was  told  about  captures  were 
true.  The  case  was  far  different  with  the  army,  which 
from  first  to  last  was  but  wretchedly  supported,  and  was 
often  regarded  even  with  jealousy,  by  communities  who 
recalled  their  own  sufferings  and  those  of  their  fore- 
fathers at  the  hands  of  a trained  and  centralized  sol- 
diery. The  troops  were,  therefore,  outraged  by  the  ap- 
parent indifference  of  Congress  in  filling  its  empty 
treasury  in  order  to  fulfil  its  broken  promises  to  them. 
They  would  not  have  been  indisposed  to  exert  a forcible 
pressure  on  the  civil  power  to  compel  the  levying  and 
collecting  of  continental  taxes.  Some  strong  advocates 
of  a true  federal  union,  and  many  of  the  creditors  of 
Congress,  were  willing  to  try  the  experiment.  The 
movement  was  partly  organized  and  was  actually  ini- 
tiated at  the  army  headquarters  in  Newburgh  by  well- 
written  addresses  to  the  soldiers,  which  bore  the  name  of 
Armstrong. 

But  Washington  was  averse  to  such  extreme  measures, 
and  by  his  commanding  personal  influence  succeeded  in 
averting  the  calamity  of  a civil  war  between  w 
the  respective  advocates  of  loose  and  strong  allays’  theciis- 
federation.  A mutinous  handful  of  exasper-  rul,ttnt' 
ated  soldiers  did,  howevei',  actually  thi-eaten  Congress, 
and  its  members  fled  in  panic  from  Philadelphia  to 
Princeton,  where  they  summoned  Washington  and  con- 
sulted in  regard  to  the  size  and  organization  of  the  small 
standing  anny  which  was  to  be  maintained  for  the  de- 
fence of  the  frontier.  The  establishment  of  a militia  for 
the  regulation  of  internal  order,  of  the  military  school, 
and  other  mattei’s  of  a like  nature  were  considei’ed.  The 
immediate  demands  of  both  officers  and  men  were  met 
by  partially  funding  the  sums  due  into  the  general  debt, 
giving  paper  obligations  for  three  months’  pay  to  the 
men,  bearing  intei-est  at  six  per  cent.,  and  by  voting  to 


376  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


the  officers  certificates  for  five  years’  pay,  also  bearing  in- 
terest  at  six  per  cent.,  commuting  the  half-pay  for  life 
promised  at  Valley  Forge  into  full  pay  for  that  period. 
Both  sorts  of  paper  were  really  irredeemable,  but  ne- 
cessity compelled  their  acceptance.  Public  meetings  in 
many  parts  of  New  England  displayed  a bitter  opposi- 
tion to  the  Commutation  Act  for  promising  even  the  lit- 
tle it  did.  Greene’s  army  in  the  South  was  literally 
starving,  the  proverbial  ingratitude  of  States  having 
been  shown  by  South  Carolina. 

Both  North  and  South,  individuals  and  troops  of  men 
were  hastening  to  their  homes  to  resume  their  labors 
The  army  dis-  an(l  support  their  families.  The  army  melted 

banded.  insensibly  away  until  but  a few  companies 
were  left.  Finally,  on  receipt  of  news  that  peace  was 
concluded,  the  few  remaining  forces  were  successfully 
disbanded  by  formal  proclamation,  November  2d,  1783. 
Some  years  elapsed  before  even  partial  justice  was  done 
to  the  brave  veterans  who  had  been  temporarily  the  dupes 
of  that  misguided  and  narrow  sentiment  of  local  preju- 
dice, which  sprang  from  overstrained  devotion  to  ab- 
stract principles. 

Just  before  their  final  separation  the  officers,  at  the 
instigation  of  Knox,  formed  a society  to  perpetuate  the 
The  Cincin-  memory  of  their  participation  in  great  deeds. 

nati.  As  Cincinnatus  had  left  the  plough  and  re- 
turned to  it,  the  members  were  to  be  known  as  Cincin- 
nati, and  membership  was  to  be  hereditary.  The  coun- 
try felt  that  wherever  soldiers  met  there  would  be 
advocates  of  “a  hoop  to  the  barrel,”  as  they  themselves 
were  wont  to  phrase  their  devotion  to  strong  union 
among  the  States.  Many  professed  alarm  at  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  hereditary  aristocracy.  The  society  was 
never  popular,  but  it  retained  the  hereditary  feature  and 
still  exists. 


WEAKNESS  AND  STRENGTH 


377 


The  last  English  soldiers  remaining  in  America  sailed 
from  New  York  on  November  25th.  It  was  estimated 
that  twenty  thousand  loyalists  left  their  ^ , . 

«/  y \y  gg  n i it  g - 

homes  to  settle  in  Nova  Scotia,  Canada,  the  tony  political 
Bermudas,  or  the  Antilles.  Washington  and  m,1'=hL 
Clinton,  governor  of  the  State,  entered  the  city  at  the 
head  of  the  few  remaining  companies  of  the  army  on 
the  day  the  British  departed.  On  December  4th,  a fare- 
well meeting  of  the  officers  was  held,  and  a few  days 
afterward  the  commander-in-chief  set  out  for  Annapolis, 
whither  Congress  had  then  removed.  On  the  twenty- 
third  he  delivered  “ to  the  United  States  in  Congress  as- 
sembled,” a memorable  short  address  of  resignation  and 
retired,  as  he  supposed,  to  private  life.  In  eight  years 
he  had  expended  from  his  private  purse  sixty-four  thou- 
sand dollars.  For  this,  as  by  agreement,  he  asked  reim- 
bursement, but  demanded  nothing  for  his  own  arduous 
labors.  During  the  weary  days  of  waiting  and  fighting 
he  had  pondered  the  questions  of  the  time,  and  with 
almost  superhuman  insight  reached  their  solution.  In 
the  previous  June  he  had,  therefore,  written  a letter  to 
the  State  governors,  which  contained  the  essential  policy 
from  which  his  country  has  never  departed,  except  to  its 
hurt  : “ First,  an  indissoluble  union  of  the  States  under 
one  federal  head  ; second,  a sacred  regard  to  public  jus- 
tice ; third,  the  adoption  of  a proper  peace  establish- 
ment ; and  fourth,  the  prevalence  of  that  pacific  and 
friendly  disposition  among  the  people  of  the  United 
States  which  will  induce  them  to  forget  their  local  prej- 
udices and  policies,  to  make  those  mutual  concessions 
which  are  requisite  to  the  general  prosperity,  and,  in 
some  instances,  to  sacrifice  their  individual  advantages 
to  the  interest  of  the  community.  These  are  the  pillars 
on  which  the  glorious  fabric  of  our  independence  and 
character  must  rest.”  These  remarkable  words  presaged 


378  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


a new  role  for  their  author.  He  had  organized  and  con- 
ducted the  struggle  for  independence,  he  alone  could 
organize  and  conduct  the  impending  straggle  for  true 
federation. 

The  modelling  of  a great  picture  is  said  to  require  the 
use  of  deep  shadows  and  strong  light.  A panoramic  view 
The  southern  °f  the  United  States  at  the  close  of  the  Revo- 

states.  lution  will  disclose  both.  Their  population 
had  increased  from  1775  to  1783  by  about  five  hundred 
thousand  souls,  the  total  being  estimated  at  three  and  a 
quarter  millions,  but  of  these  there  were  now  six  hundred 
thousand  slaves.  This  negro  host  was  largely  in  the  five 
Southern  States — Virginia,  Georgia,  the  Carolinas,  and 
Maryland — giving  them  nearly  half  of  the  whole.  Socie- 
ty in  this  section  was  aristocratic,  even  the  poor  whites 
being  for  the  most  part  attached  to  some  rich  family, 
and  living  without  influence  in  a semi-patriarchal  rela- 
tion. Although  the  Anglican  Church  had  fallen  into  de- 
cadence for  several  reasons,  the  chief  one  being  its  loy- 
alty to  England,  yet  its  essential  characteristics  were 
dear  to  many,  and  by  a complete  regeneration  it  became 
a strong  American  Church  almost  immediately  after  the 
war.  Methodism  had  its  American  beginning  in  New 
York,  but  during  the  years  of  the  conflict  its  adherents 
grew-  in  numbers  and  influence,  and  when  organized  as 
an  American  Church  it  spread  with  rapidity  and  con- 
tested with  the  calvinistic  Baptists  the  supremacy  among 
the  masses  of  the  Southern  States.  The  occupation  of 
all  classes  in  the  South,  merchants  and  planters,  poor 
whites,  free  negroes,  and  slaves,  were  all  directly  and  in- 
directly connected  with  agriculture.  The  college  of 
William  and  Mary,  though  crippled  by  poverty  and 
closed  during  the  war,  had  exerted  a strong  influence  in 
training  the  minds  of  the  upper  stratum  of  society,  but 
the  education  of  the  people  in  general  was  sadly  neglected. 


WEAKNESS  AND  STRENGTH 


379 


The  Middle  States  contained  less  than  a third  of  the 
total  number  of  inhabitants,  Pennsylvania  being  the  sec- 
ond State  of  the  Union,  following  Virginia,  The  Middle 
and  New  York  ranking  fifth,  that  is,  after  statefe' 
Massachusetts.  As  in  certain  parts  of  the  South,  the 
Presbyterians  were  very  numerous  throughout  this  sec- 
tion. There  were  other  strong  denominations  affiliated 
by  calvinistic  belief,  like  the  Baptists  and  Dutch  Re- 
formed. The  orthodox  Quakers  were  numerous  and 
wealthy.  There  were  also,  of  course,  many  belonging 
to  the  churches  already  mentioned.  Philadelphia,  with 
thirty-two  thousand  inhabitants,  was  the  first  city  of  the 
Union,  wealthy,  public  spirited,  and  gay,  though  in  the 
latter  particular  Baltimore  was  considered  to  outstrip 
it,  for  there  alone  existed  a theatre.  Neither  Quakers 
nor  Presbyterians  would  tolerate  one  in  their  town  of 
brotherly  love.  New  York,  which  in  1775  had  but  twenty- 
three  thousand  inhabitants,  had  been  nearly  ruined  by 
the  careless  occupation  of  English  and  tones  during  the 
war,  but  its  broad  waterway  into  the  interior,  and  the 
affiliations  between  its  Dutch  citizens  and  those  of  Albany, 
together  with  its  splendid  and  accessible  harbor,  were 
destined  to  quickly  restore  its  prosperity  and  influence. 
The  Dutch  of  New  York,  like  the  Germans  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, were  an  invaluable  element  in  the  creation  of  pub- 
lic confidence  and  the  restoration  of  regularity  in  the 
occupations  of  the  people. 

The  agriculture  of  the  Middle  States  was  utterly  un- 
like that  of  the  South.  Small  holdings  were  the  rule, 
and  farms  were  tilled  by  their  owners  or  by  The;r  occu_ 
hired  help.  The  staples  were  those  of  home  ellcat i o’na'i 
consumption,  and  commanded  a good  mar-  institutions, 
ket  at  the  doors  of  those  who  raised  them.  There  was 
a beginning  of  manufactures,  and  an  extensive  com- 
merce. There  were  four  colleges  : King’s,  now  Columbia, 


380  THE  FRENCH  AFAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


in  New  York ; Princeton  and  Queen’s,  now  Rutgers,  in 
New  Jersey ; in  Philadelphia  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Three  of  them  were  well  equipped  for  the  time 
and  very  influential.  The  first  and  last,  although  Jay  and 
Hamilton  were  graduates  of  Columbia,  were  nevertheless 
chiefly  important  in  the  cities  which  contained  them,  while 
Princeton,  which  was  a child  of  Yale,  through  its  rela- 
tion, on  one  hand,  to  New  England,  and  its  religious  con- 
nection with  Presbyterians,  Quakers,  and  Dutch,  on  the 
other,  had  a clientage  from  all  three  sections  of  the  coun- 
try, and  exerted  a national  influence.  Witherspoon,  its 
president,  although  a Scotchman  by  birth,  was  an  active 
and  ardent  patriot,  and  of  the  youth  trained  by  him  no 
less  than  nine  sat  in  the  convention  which  framed  the 
Constitution.  The  influence  of  the  universities  was  very 
strong  in  that  body.  It  had  fifty-five  members  ; thirty- 
two  of  them  were  men  of  academic  training.  London, 
Oxford,  Glasgow,  Edinburgh,  and  Aberdeen  had  shared 
in  forming  the  minds  of  five,  about  the  same  number  had 
been  connected  with  the  checkered  fortunes  of  William 
and  Mary,  one  was  a graduate  of  Pennsylvania,  two  of 
Columbia,  three  of  Harvard,  four  of  Yale,  and  nine  of 
Princeton. 

Harvard  and  Yale  were  both  the  offspring  of  that  or- 
thodox calvinistic  Puritanism  or  theocratic  Congrega- 
New  England  tionalism,  which  was  the  prevalent  faith  of 
New  England.  Ancient  and  dignified  in  their 
origin,  influential  and  pronounced  in  their  teachings, 
their  tremendous  power  was  exerted  both  before  and 
during  the  Revolution  in  a community  fit  to  be  swayed 
by  philosophy  and  learning.  Brown  and  Dartmouth 
were  still  in  their  infancy.  There  were  fifty-six  names 
appended  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Of  these 
eight  were  graduates  of  Harvard,  four  of  Yale,  three  of 
Princeton,  two  of  Pennsylvania,  two  of  William  and  Mary, 


WEAKNESS  AND  STRENGTH 


381 


three  of  Cambridge,  two  of  Edinburgh,  and  one  of  St. 
Omer’s.  The  population  of  New  England,  although  com- 
prising Quakers,  Baptists,  and  even  Scotch  Presbyterians, 
was  nevertheless  the  most  homogeneous  in  any  section. 
Whatever  its  later  modifications,  the  division  of  the  Ref- 
ormation known  as  Calvinism  laid  hold  of  a distinct  type 
of  man,  and  while  the  other  States  were  largely  calvinistic 
New  England  was  predominantly  so.  The  people  were 
shrewd,  reticent,  undemonstrative,  and  laborious.  They 
were  in  the  main  well  educated,  and  self-reliant  in  both 
opinion  and  conduct,  having  a curious  mixture  of  tra- 
ditional reverence  combined  with  the  courage  of  their 
convictions  in  a high  degree.  The  jealousy  of  charter 
rights,  which  they  had  felt  more  keenly  than  most,  was 
the  key-note  of  the  Revolution,  the  lukewarmness  which 
they  displayed  in  the  later  years  of  the  war  was  begotten 
of  their  local  devotion  and  the  intensity  with  which  they 
applied  themselves  to  their  well-developed  commerce  and 
agriculture.  There  was  no  leisure  class,  in  fact  neither 
classes  nor  masses,  their  institutions  in  Church  and  State 
being  purely  democratic,  even  to  the  verge  of  disorgan- 
ization. Massachusetts  was  the  fourth  State  in  the  Union 
in  point  of  population,  having  about  three  hundred  and 
eighty  thousand,  and  thus  coming  after  Virginia,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  North  Carolina.  There  were  about  a million 
people  in  all  New  England.  Boston  was  a little  city  of 
some  twenty-three  thousand  persons,  covering  three  hills 
and  overlooking  a good  harbor. 

But  from  the  beginning  of  the  struggle  for  the  charter 
liberties  of  Englishmen  there  was  a close  connection  be- 
tween Massachusetts  and  Virginia,  in  both 
of  which  the  fires  of  patriotism  burned  setfefanY  Vir- 
brighter  than  elsewhere.  The  outbreak  was  gima' 
largely  the  work  of  the  radicals  in  these  commonwealths, 
although  there  were  warm  and  courageous  patriots  in 


382  TIIE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


great  numbers  everywhere.  The  continuous  prosecution 
of  the  war  was  in  the  main  the  work  of  moderate  lib- 
erals,  who  had  acted  slowly  in  the  beginning’. 

Character  of  . , . . ° 

the  Rev  o i u-  but  having  reached  conviction  w7ere  self-sac- 
rificing and  tenacious  in  'moments  of  trial. 
The  entire  movement  was  a development  rather  than  a 
revolution  in  constitutional  ideas,  though  revolutionary 
in  the  severance  of  political  connection  with  England. 
Men  of  all  classes  and  of  all  religious  denominations  and 
of  all  the  civilized  races  settled  on  the  continent  were 
contributors  to  the  final  result.  While  the  seeds  of  re- 
ligious, social,  and  political  difference  germinated  a sec- 
ond time  in  the  years  of  warfare  and  produced  the  dis- 
heartening results  observable  at  the  close  of  the  struggle, 
both  in  regard  to  public  credit  and  State  separatism,  yet 
there  were  also  conditions  favorable  to  preserving  for 
united  advantage  what  had  been  won  by  united  exertion. 

The  gains  of  the  Revolution  were  at  first  observable 
mainly  in  excellent  State  institutions  emancipated  from 
royal  or  Parliamentary  control  and  but  slight- 

Effect  o n , , , , 

ecclesiastical  ly  changed  to  meet  necessary  emergencies, 
movements.  'p]ie  cliaDge  in  other  directions  was  equally 
deliberate  and  conservative.  The  movement  for  the  dis- 
establishment of  the  English  Church  and  entire  religious 
liberty  began  in  Virginia  before  the  war  and  was  carried 
to  successful  completion  shortly  after.  It  was  simply  a 
question  of  time  when  the  other  States  would  take  iden- 
tical ground  regarding  any  religious  establishment.  The 
Puritans  of  New  England  had  always  been  advocates  of 
a certain  connection  between  Church  and  State  by  im- 
posing religious  tests  for  the  exercise  of  political  rights. 
The  Presbyterians  of  America,  although  often  confused 
with  the  former  because  of  the  slight  difference  in  doc- 
trine, differed  widely  from  them  in  race  and  political 
theory.  They  took  a radically  opposite  view.  It  was 


"WEAKNESS  AND  STRENGTH 


383 


their  influence  which  carried  Virginia,  and  in  the  end 
prevailed  everywhere.  By  the  power  of  men  either  in- 
different or  hostile  to  religion  working  on  a general  feel- 
ing that  ecclesiastical  and  dogmatic  tests  should  be  ut- 
terly eliminated,  an  appearance  of  absolute  neutrality  and 
even  hostility  in  regard  to  Christianity  on  the  part  of  the 
Federal  Government  was  conveyed  through  the  omission 
of  any  religious  reference,  even  to  the  Almighty,  in  the 
Constitution  when  finally  adopted. 

Slavery  also  was  a burning  question.  It  existed  in  all 
the  States.  Some  among  them,  like  Virginia,  took  imme- 
diate measures  either  to  check  the  slave  trade 

Slavery. 

or  stop  it  altogether.  This  feeling  of  the  Old 
Dominion  was  but  temporary,  and  on  the  introduction 
of  the  cotton-gin  the  entire  South  became  ardent  advo- 
cates of  slave  labor.  In  Massachusetts,  where  its  abuses 
had  in  early  colonial  days  received  a recognition  in  law, 
an  enlightened  sentiment  had  arisen  and  prevailed  in  se- 
curing complete  emancipation.  It  gradually  disappeared 
in  the  other  Northern  States,  either  legally  and  from 
public  disapprobation  or  because  it  was  not  profitable. 

In  nearly  all  the  States  there  was  a limitation  of  the 
suffrage  by  a property  qualification  of  some  sort.  In  all 
of  them,  except  those  of  New  England,  the  old  Tendencies 
English  notions  of  primogeniture  and  entails  inWasfateUad° 
found  expression  in  the  laws,  and  in  New  “mistrations. 
York  there  were  manorial  privileges  like  those  of  feudal- 
ism. But  all  these  were  abolished  within  a few  years. 
In  every  State,  without  exception,  the  common  law  of 
England  was  the  law  of  the  land,  except  when  abrogated 
or  modified  by  statute.  The  statutes  of  England  and  of 
the  colonies  enacted  before  the  Revolution  retained  va- 
lidity. There  was  the  same  general  form  of  government 
in  all  thirteen,  working  smoothly  with  a governor  and 
two  houses,  the  upper  one  formed  by  remodelling  the 


384  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


former  council  and  the  lower  one  directly  representing 
tlie  people  as  it  had  always  done.  The  judiciary  prac- 
tised the  same  English  forms  and  kept  their  seats  on  ap- 
pointment either  for  a long  term  or  quamdiu  se  bene  ges- 
serint,  that  is,  for  life  or  good  behaviour.  The  lawyers 
cited  English  decisions  then,  as  now.  In  short,  there  is 
a very  perplexing  resemblance  in  the  institutions  of  the 
new  States  to  the  English  Constitution  as  it  was  then 
understood,  or  rather  misunderstood.  But  the  resem- 
blance was  due  rather  to  a natural  historical  develop- 
ment than  to  intentional  imitation. 

These  considerations  prove  how  active  and  strong  was 
the  principle  and  fact  of  union  among  these  common- 
wealths, whose  conduct  in  the  jealous  asser- 
of  e”  new  tion  of  their  autonomy  jeopardized  not  only 
the  success  of  the  war,  but  the  ultimate  suc- 
cess of  the  very  principles  for  which  they  had  fought. 
But  it  is  given  only  to  the  most  acute  minds  to  under- 
stand the  tendencies  of  their  own  times.  An  impartial 
judge  of  the  circumstances  must  remember  the  narrow 
horizon,  not  merely  of  Americans  but  of  most  Europeans, 
at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century.  He  must  recall 
that  the  wisest  men  in  Europe  and  the  most  profound 
students  of  history  had  seen  free  institutions  working 
successfully  only  in  small  countries,  that  they  distrusted 
any  attempt  to  unite  large  numbers  under  republican  in- 
stitutions, and  that  no  one  really  understood  experi- 
mentally the  principle  of  representation  in  the  double 
and  indirect  sense  America  has  given  to  it  within  a cen- 
tury. The  notion  of  union  was  sentimental  rather  than 
practical,  the  State  governments  seemed  to  include  the 
regulation  of  nearly  all  the  most  important  relations  of 
life  as  to  civil  and  religious  liberty,  property,  and  the 
administration  of  justice  ; the  nature  and  functions  of 
federal  government  were  neither  studied  nor  understood, 


WEAKNESS  AND  STRENGTH 


385 


and  the  existence  of  any  strong  central  sovereignty,  how- 
ever constructed,  would  naturally  appear  a menace  to 
freedom  in  the  nearer  interests  which  affect  the  daily, 
hourly  life  of  every  man.  Add  to  this  that  the  diffi- 
culties of  intercommunication  between  the  various  com- 
munities were  enormous,  travelling  being  for  the  most 
part  still  on  horseback  or  by  rare  and  slow  mail  coaches. 
Slight  differences  had  thereby  been  accentuated  into  lo- 
cal jealousies  and  suspicions  like  those  which  still  survive 
between  Europeans  and  Americans,  so  that,  taking  all 
considerations  into  account,  it  must  appear  marvellous 
that  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  federation  were  no 
greater  than  they  were.  The  period  immediately  after 
the  peace  was  perhaps  critical,  but  it  is  creditable  to  the 
time  that  the  obstacles  were  surmounted  at  all. 

The  literature  of  the  Revolution  showed  no  abrupt 
change  in  the  character  and  temper  of  the  people  which 
had  been  so  conservative  in  other  directions.  T ..  , , 

Literature  of 

The  literary  fashion  of  America  was  and  re-  the  Revo  in- 
. . . . tion. 

mained  with  slight  modifications  identical 
with  that  of  the  mother-country.  The  principal  events 
of  both  the  French  war  and  the  Revolution  produced  a 
quantity  of  ballads  and  songs.  The  death  of  Howe,  the 
victory  of  Wolfe,  Burgoyne’s  surrender,  and  the  battle 
of  Trenton  represent  one  class  of  subjects,  while  abstract 
themes  like  American  independence  or  liberty  in  gen- 
eral represent  another.  They  are  all  equally  stilted  and 
are  written  in  the  manner  of  Butler,  Pope,  Gay,  or  Shen- 
stone.  One  only  has  survived,  “ Yankee  Doodle,”  or  the 
“ trifling  provincial,”  as  the  title  may  be  literally  ren- 
dered. The  words  are  a satire  on  the  American  militia 
by  the  English  regulars,  and  the  tune  dates  from  the 
days  of  Charles  L,  being  an  English  adaptation  of  a 
Dutch  melody. 

About  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  born 
25 


386  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 


a group  of  men,  connected  for  the  most  part  in  one  way 
or  another  with  Connecticut  and  New  Jersey,  though 
Signs  of  a na-  Brackenridge  was  born  in  Scotland  and  Hop- 
tionai  spirit.  kiusou  iu  Pennsylvania,  who  were  destined  to 
occupy  a well-defined  position  in  literature.  Their  names 
are  familiar,  Trumbull,  Dwight,  Lemuel  Hopkins,  Hum- 
phreys and  Barlow,  Brackenridge,  Francis  Hopkinson, 
and  Freneau.  The  “MacFingal,”  of  Trumbull,  the  “Co- 
lumbiad,”  of  Barlow,  the  “ Modern  Chivalry,”  of  Brack- 
enridge, the  “ Battle  of  the  Kegs,”  by  Hopkinson,  and 
the  poems  of  Freneau  are  the  best  known  among  their 
productions.  It  is  customary  to  trace  in  these  works 
the  influences  of  Puritan  and  Presbyterian  provincialism 
and  to  dismiss  them  with  a patronizing  smile.  It  may 
at  once  be  admitted  that,  judged  by  the  so-called  abso- 
lute standard  of  fine  art,  or  in  comparison  with  the  few 
immortal  monuments  of  pure  literature,  they  shrink  into 
small  dimensions,  if  not  into  insignificance.  But  their 
authors  did  a great  work  for  their  times.  Dwight, 
Brackenridge,  and  Barlow  were  chaplains  in  the  army, 
and  encouraged  the  troops  by  both  sermons  and  songs  ; 
Freneau  was  an  agitator,  a prisoner  of  war,  and  an  influ- 
ential patriot.  The  others  were  equally  active  in  other 
spheres.  But,  taken  together,  these  men  mark  the  faint 
beginnings  and  bring  to  light  the  promise  of  a national 
spirit.  Though  the  history  of  literature  may  pass  them 
rapidly  by,  the  historian  must  note  them  as  a company 
of  remarkable  men,  understanding  and  cherishing  the 
social  and  political  transition  of  which  they  were  a part. 

This  age  of  our  history  has  been  designated  that  of 
the  Titans : Edwards,  Franklin,  Otis,  Henry,  Paine,  With- 
Poiiticai  writ-  erspoon,  Madison,  Fisher  Ames,  Jay,  John 
ers-  Adams,  Marshall,  Hamilton,  Jefferson,  and 
Washington  himself.  These  men  were  all,  in  a greater 
or  less  degree,  literary  men.  Their  writings  are  for  the 


WEAKNESS  AND  STRENGTH 


387 


most  part  strong  and  terse,  sometimes  they  are  elegant. 
But  with  them  all  the  English  language,  whether  written 
or  spoken,  was  but  the  means  to  an  end.  Edwards  was 
the  representative  of  the  religious  and  philosophical  life 
of  his  time,  as  Franklin  was  of  the  practical  and  secular. 
The  traditions  of  that  glowing  eloquence  which  flowed 
from  the  lips  of  Otis,  Fisher  Ames,  and  Henry  are  still 
distinct,  but  all  three  were  primarily  legists  and  patriots. 
Paine  was  a clever  and  successful  pamphleteer,  Wither- 
spoon was  the  scholar  in  politics,  the  “councillor  of 
Morris,  correspondent  of  Washington,  rival  of  Franklin 
in  sagacity  and  resolution.”  Marshall  was  primarily  the 
jurisconsult  and  really  belongs  to  the  coming  construc- 
tive age.  John  Adams  and  Madison,  Jay  and  Hamilton, 
Jefferson  and  Washington  ; we  think  of  statesmanship, 
of  political  wisdom,  of  the  highest  military  capacity  in 
mentioning  their  names.  And  justly  so,  for  while  their 
writings  are  probably  equal  to  any  similar  body  of  politi- 
cal literature,  their  capacity  in  the  conduct  of  affairs  has 
put  them  in  the  foremost  rank  among,  not  the  writers, 
but  the  makers,  of  history.  If  Jefferson  embodied  what- 
ever was  revolutionary  in  the  movement  of  his  times,  and 
Franklin  stood  for  the  historic  continuity  of  his  country’s 
life,  Washington’s  was  a seraphic  spear  which  turned 
in  both  directions  to  guard  the  new  people  from  the  ex- 
tremes of  either  radicalism  or  conservatism.  The  evi- 
dence is  in  their  writings  as  well  as  in  their  actions,  and 
the  three  may  stand  as  types  of  all  the  manly  forces 
which  united  in  the  final  result. 

We  are  often  told  that  the  peace  was  but  the  begin- 
ning of  the  most  critical  epoch  in  American  history. 
This  is  true  if  our  eyes  are  fixed  on  slavery,  The  new  s0_ 
on  separatism,  on  local  jealousies,  on  personal  cieh"- 
selfishness  or  ambition,  on  the  hesitation  of  a newly 
liberated  people  with  a form  of  government  undeveloped 


388  THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION 

and  almost  untried.  But  there  is  no  essential  in  the 
organism  which  was  not  in  the  embryo,  and  if  we  pass 
over  the  vanishing  factors  we  shall  discern,  half-hidden, 
perhaps,  but  strong,  the  increasing  forces  ; vigorous  na- 
tionality in  common  institutions  and  destiny,  strong 
leaders  versed  in  the  history  of  their  forefathers  and 
appreciating  the  problem  of  progress  along  traditional 
lines,  a people  passing  through  a difficult  transition  but 
conscious  of  their  identity  and  their  duty.  History  is 
both  a succession  of  states  in  society  and  at  the  same  time 
a record  of  great  names.  The  latter  are  already  discern- 
ible at  the  close  of  the  war ; the  new  state  of  society 
among  English-speaking  men  which  these  names  evince 
is  likewise  already  in  being.  While  its  qualities  mani- 
fest themselves  later  and  more  slowly,  while  its  develop- 
ment is  accompanied  by  friction  and  anxiety,  its  exist- 
ence is,  nevertheless,  assured. 


APPENDIX 


i. 

CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE 

A.D. 

Peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle 1748 

French  incite  Indians  to  hostility 1750 

French  attack  Ohio  pioneers 1752 

Building  of  Fort  Duquesne 1753 

Washington  at  Fort  Necessity July  4,  1754 

William  Johnson  commissary  for  the  Iroquois 1755 

Battle  of  Braddock’s  Fields July  9,  1755 

Battle  of  Lake  George September  8,  1755 

War  declared  between  England  and  France May  18,  1756 

Fall  of  Oswego August  14,  1756 

Armstrong  captures  Kittanning September  7,  1756 

Alliance  of  England  and  Prussia January,  1757 

Coalition  ministry  of  Newcastle  and  Pitt June,  1757 

Massacre  of  Fort  William  Henry August  9,  1757 

Battle  of  Rossbach November  5,  1757 

Defeat  of  Abercrombie  at  Ticonderoga July  8,  1758 

Capture  of  Louisburg July  26,  1758 

Capture  of  Frontenac August  26,  1758 

Capture  of  Fort  Duquesne  by  Forbes November  25,  1758 

Capture  of  Fort  Niagara  by  Johnson July  24,  1759 

Capture  of  Ticonderoga  by  Amherst July  26,  1759 

Battle  of  Minden August  1,  1759 

Battle  of  the  Plains  of  Abraham September  13,  1759 

Surrender  of  Quebec September  18,  1759 

Battle  of  Ste.  Foy April  28,  1760 

Surrender  of  Montreal  and  Canada September  8,  1760 

Death  of  George  II.  and  Accession  of  George  III.  October  25,  1760 
Writs  of  assistance  in  Massachusetts 1761 


390 


APPENDIX 


A.D. 

Bourbon  Family  Compact August  15,  1761 

Resignation  of  the  Newcastle-Pitt  ministry October  6,  1761 

War  between  England  and  Spain January,  1762 

Bute  Prime  Minister May  29,  1762 

Peace  of  Paris February  10,  1762 

Grenville  Prime  Minister April  8,  1763 

Pontiac’s  conspiracy May  7,  1763 

Revenue  Act  for  the  Colonies  passed March,  1764 

Passage  of  the  Stamp  Act March  22,  1765 

Rockingham  Prime  Minister July,  1765 

Stamp  Act  Congress  in  New  York October  7,  1765 

Brown  University  founded 1765 

Repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act February  22,  1766 

Duty  imposed  on  tea  and  other  commodities 1767 

New  York  enjoined  from  independent  action 1767 

Customs  officers  appointed 1767 

“ Farmer’s  Letters”  written  by  Dickinson 1767 

Chatham  Prime  Minister August,  1767 

Queen’s  (Rutgers)  College  founded 1767 

Grafton  Prime  Minister v December,  1767 

Massachusetts  issues  circular  letter January,  1768 

Bernard  dissolves  Massachusetts  Assembly April,  1768 

Riots  in  Boston  occasioned  by  seizure  of  sloop  Liberty.  June,  1768 

British  troops  in  Boston October,  1768 

Organized  resistance  in  North  Carolina 1768 

Settlements  in  Tennessee 1768 

Botetourt  dissolves  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses 1769 

Dartmouth  College  founded 1769 

Repeal  of  all  duties  except  that  on  tea March,  1770 

Lord  North  Prime  Minister 1770 

Boston  “ Massacre” March  5,  1770 

Battle  on  the  Alamance May  16,  1771 

Burning  of  the  Gaspee June  9,  1772 

Virginia  appoints  Intercolonial  Committee  of  Correspon- 
dence  1773 

Hutchinson  letters  divulged  by  Franklin 1773 

Boston  Tea-party December  16,  1773 

Franklin  before  the  Privy  Council January,  1774 

Passage  of  the  Penal  Acts March,  1774 

Enforcement  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill June  1,  1774 

First  Continental  Congress  September  5,  1774 


APPENDIX 


391 


A.D. 

Indian  fight,  Point  Pleasant October  6,  1774 

The  American  Association October  20,  1774 

Chatham  and  Burke  plead  for  reconciliation 1775 

The  conflicts  at  Lexington  and  Concord April  19,  1775 

Capture  of  Ticonderoga May  10,  1775 

Second  Continental  Congress May  10,  1775 

Mecklinburg  Resolutions  of  Independence May  20,  1775 

Washington  commander  of  the  American  forces. . .June  15,  1775 

Battle  of  Bunker  Hill June  17,  1775 

Siege  of  Boston Jtily,  1775 

Capture  of  Montreal November  12,  1775 

Siege  of  Quebec December,  1775 

Common  Sense  ” published January  8,  1776 

Boston  taken  by  Washington March  17,  1776 

Congress  directs  colonies  to  organize  their  own  govern- 
ments  May  15, 1776 

British  driven  from  Charleston June  28,  1776 

Declaration  of  Independence July  4,  1776 

Battle  of  Long  Island August  27,  1776 

British  occupy  New  York September  15,  1776 

Battle  of  White  Plains October  28,  1776 

Battle  of  Trenton December  26,  1776 

Battle  of  Princeton January  3,  1777 

Adoption  of  the  American  Flag JuDe  14,  1777 

Battle  of  Oriskany August  6,  1777 

Battle  of  Bennington August  16,  1777 

Battle  of  the  Brandywine September  11,  1777 

Battle  of  Bemis’s  Heights September  19,  1777 

Battle  of  Germantown October  4,  1777 

Battle  of  Freeman’s  Farm October  7,  1777 

Burgoyne’s  surrender  at  Saratoga October  17,  1777 

The  confederation  of  the  States November  15,  1777 

The  French  Alliance February  6,  1778 

Parliament’s  offers  of  conciliation February,  1778 

Battle  of  Monmouth June  28,  1778 

Massacre  at  Wyoming July  4,  1778 

American  retreat  from  Newport August  29,  1778 

British  capture  Savannah December  29,  1778 

British  victory  at  Brier  Creek March  3,  1779 

The  Spanish  Alliance April  12,  1779 

Capture  of  Stony  Point July  16,  1779 


392 


APPENDIX 


Naval  victory  of  Paul  Jones September  23, 

Lincoln  and  d’Estaing  repulsed  at  Savannah October  9, 

Clinton  captures  Charleston May  12, 

Battle  of  Camden August  16, 

Capture  of  Andre September  23, 

Battle  of  King’s  Mountain October  7, 

Battle  of  the  Cowpens January  17, 

Battle  of  Guilford March  15, 

Battle  of  Hobkirk’s  Hill April  25, 

Battle  of  Eutaw  Springs September  8, 

Surrender  at  Yorktown October  19, 

Cessation  of  hostilities January  20, 

Rockingham  Prime  Minister March  20, 

Completion  of  peace  negotiations November  30, 

Treaty  of  Paris  and  Versailles September  3, 

Evacuation  of  New  York November  25, 


A.D. 

1779 

1779 

1780 
1780 
1780 

1780 

1781 
1781 
1781 
1781 

1781 

1782 
1782 

1782 

1783 
1783 


XL 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The  works  of  Francis  Parkman  form  a complete  and  exhaust- 
ive history  of  the  French  in  America.  The  two  portions,  entitled 
respectively  Montcalm  and  Wolfe,  arid  The  Conspiracy  of  Pon- 
tiac, cover  the  period  of  the  Seven  Years’  War  in  America.  They 
are  admirable  in  respect  to  thoroughness,  reliability,  and  style. 

The  general  histories  of  Bancroft,  Hildreth,  Lord  Mahon,  and 
Lecky  are  accessible  to  all.  Bancroft’s  is  a monumental  work  of 
the  first  importance,  philosophical,  yet  minute  and  painstaking. 
Its  faults  are  those  of  style  and  sometimes  of  bias,  which,  how- 
ever, is  never  sufficiently  concealed  to  be  dangerous.  No  one  has 
so  conscientiously  used  the  original  sources,  nor  had  access  to  so 
many  and  important  ones  as  he.  The  student  must  use  the 
original  as  well  as  the  revised  or  centennial  edition.  Lord  Mahon 
is  the  contemporary  representative  of  the  Euglish  view,  and  is 
quite  as  polemic  as  the  American  statesman.  The  portion  of 
Lecky’s  great  work  relating  to  American  affairs  is  concise  and  has 
the  appearance  of  impartiality,  though  written  with  a tinge  of 
Tory  feeling. 

The  huge  volumes  of  Justin  Winsor’s  Narrative  and  Critical 
History  of  America  are  very  valuable  to  the  student  for  their  full 
references  to  books  and  sources.  The  plan  is  confusing  to  the 
general  reader,  and  while  many  of  the  monographs  are  tine,  there 
is  a necessary  diversity  in  treatment  and  style  which  shows  the 
dangers  of  historical  dissection.  The  Reader’s  Handbook  of 
the  American  Revolution  by  the  same  editor  is  an  excellent  bibli- 
ography and  indispensable  both  to  the  investigator  and  the  reader. 
Its  use  will  obviate  the  necessity  of  any  other,  except  for  works 
published  since  1879. 

The  three  volumes  of  John  Fiske,  two  on  the  Revolution  and 
one  on  the  Critical  Period  of  American  History,  can  be  recom- 
mended almost  without  a reservation.  The  style  savors  a little 


394 


APPENDIX 


of  the  popular  lecture,  but  the  facts  are  clearly  given  and  the 
judgments  are  excellent. 

Much  interest  has  been  manifested  in  France  under  the  re- 
public concerning  American  history  and  the  United  States.  The 
extensive  work  of  Doniol,  Histoire  de  la  participation  de  la 
France  a l’etablissement  des  Btats-Unis  d’Amerique,  Correspon- 
dancc  diplomatiques  et  documents,  views  our  struggle  as  an  epi- 
sode of  French  history,  but  makes  accessible  much  hitherto  un- 
available material.  So  also  does  the  interesting  volume,  Documents 
on  the  American  Revolution,  edited  by  John  Durand.  Circourt 
published,  as  an  appendix  to  the  French  translation  of  Volume  X. 
of  Bancroft,  a volume  of  hitherto  unused  original  documents  from 
the  French  archives.  Moireau’s  Histoire  des  Etats-Unis  is  an 
intelligent  and  sympathetic  attempt  to  use  the  newest  materials. 
The  earlier  history  by  Laboulaye  has  permanent  value,  and  that 
by  Botta,  an  Italian,  though  published  nearly  a century  ago,  is 
not  yet  antiquated. 

The  standard  collections  of  contemporary  records  are  the  Jour- 
nals of  Congress  and  the  Secret  Journals  of  Cougress,  the  Diplo- 
matic Correspondence  of  the  American  Revolution,  the  Life  and 
Writings  of  Washington,  and  the  Correspondence  of  the  American 
Revolution.  The  three  last  are  edited  by  Sparks,  and  his  method 
of  correcting  “errors  of  grammar  and  obvious  blunders,  the  re- 
sult of  hasty  composition,’’  has  given  rise  to  some  controversy. 
Besides  these  there  are  Force’s  American  Archives,  Niles’s  Prin- 
ciples and  Acts  of  the  Revolution,  Moore’s  Diary  of  the  American 
Revolution,  and  many  others  of  less  importance.  There  are  many 
other  interesting  collections  of  private  correspondence,  of  pulpit 
and  forensic  orations,  of  ballads  and  songs,  of  editorial  writing — 
in  short,  of  everything  which  sheds  light  on  the  times  of  the  Revo- 
lution. Their  titles  are  given  in  Winsor’s  Handbook.  Bancroft, 
in  the  prefaces  to  his  original  Volumes  VI.,  IX.,  and  X.,  gives  an 
account  of  his  manuscript  sources.  The  fac-simile  of  manuscripts 
in  European  archives  relating  to  America  and  the  catalogue  of 
all  original  documents  in  European  archives  which  illustrate 
American  history,  edited  by  B.  F.  Stevens,  are  of  the  utmost 
value. 

The  following  is  a list  of  other  works,  all  valuable  in  their  way, 
which  maybe  useful  to  those  who  have  no  extended  book-list  at 
hand.  It  is  given  simply  as  a selection. 

For  the  French  War  : Mante’s  History  of  the  Late  War  in 
North  America ; Rogers,  Journal  of  the  French  War  ; Barnaby, 


APPENDIX 


395 


Travels  through  the  Middle  Settlements  of  North  America  ; Grant, 
Memoirs  of  an  American  Lady  (Mrs.  Schuyler). 

For  the  Constitutional  Revolution  : Hutchinson,  History  of 
Massachusetts,  also  Diary  and  Letters  ; Pitkin,  Political  and  Civil 
History  of  the  United  States  ; Frothingliam,  Rise  of  the  Repub- 
lic and  History  of  the  Siege  of  Boston  ; Greene,  Historical  View 
of  the  American  Revolution  ; Thompson,  The  United  States  as  a 
Nation  : Almon,  Charters  of  the  British  Colonies  ; Stokes’s  Con- 
stitutions of  the  British  Colonies  ; Poore,  Collection  of  the  Fed- 
eral and  State  Constitutions,  Colonial  Charters,  and  other  Or- 
ganic Laws  of  the  United  States  ; Massey,  History  of  England  ; 
Adolphus,  History  of  England  ; Donne,  Correspondence  of 
George  III.  ; May,  Constitutional  History  of  England  ; Alexan- 
der Johnston,  his  articles  in  Lalor’s  Political  Cyclopedia  ; Gra- 
liame,  History  of  the  United  States  ; Doyle,  The  American  Colo- 
nies ; Wells,  Life  of  Samuel  Adams  ; Works  of  James  Otis, 
Patrick  Henry,  John  Adams,  and  Benjamin  Franklin. 

For  the  War  of  the  Revolution  : Bryant  and  Gay,  History  of 
the  United  States ; Hart,  Formation  of  the  Union  (Epochs  of 
American  History);  Baker,  Itinerary  of  General  Washington; 
Gordon,  History  of  the  Rise,  Progress,  and  Establishment  of  the 
Independence  of  the  United  States  ; Ludlow,  The  War  of  Amer- 
ican Independence  ; Carrington,  Battles  of  the  Revolution  ; Los- 
sing,  Field  Book  of  the  Revolution  ; Mrs.  Mercy  Warren,  Amer- 
ican Revolution  ; Ramsay,  History  of  the  American  Revolution  ; 
Lee,  Memoirs  of  the  War  in  the  Southern  Department ; Thatcher, 
Military  Journal  from  1775  to  1783  ; Smith,  American  War  from 
1775  to  1783  ; Trescot,  Diplomacy  of  the  American  Revolution  ; 
Lyman,  Diplomacy  of  the  United  States;  Elliot,  American  Dip- 
lomatic Code  ; Curwen,  Journal  and  Letters  of  an  American 
Refugee  in  England  ; Stedman,  History  of  the  American  War  ; 
Sabine,  Loyalists  of  the  American  Revolution;  Ryerson,  Loyal- 
ists of  America  ; Jones,  History  of  New  York  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary War  ; Frau  von  Riedesel,  Letters  and  Memoirs  relative 
to  Burgoyne’s  Expedition  ; Stevens,  Campaign  of  Virginia,  Corn- 
wallis-Clinton  Controversy  ; Neilson,  An  Original  of  Burgoyne’s 
Campaign  ; Garden,  Anecdotes  of  the  Revolutionary  War  ; Mrs. 
Ellet,  Women  of  the  Revolution ; Johnston  (H.  P.),  The  York- 
town  Campaign. 

The  Biographical  Literature  of  the  times  is  extensive,  and  the 
works  of  nearly  every  man  of  distinction  have  been  collected  and 
edited.  The  most  important  are  the  following  : Appleton’s  Cy- 


396 


APPENDIX 


clopedia  of  American  Biography  ; American  Statesmen  Series : 
Flanders,  Lives  of  the  Chief- Justices  ; Sparks,  Library  of  Amer- 
ican Biography;  Lives  of  Washington,  by  Sparks,  Washington 
Irving,  Aaron  Bancroft,  Marshall,  Everett,  Upham,  and  Cornells 
de  Witt  ; Sparks,  Works  of  Benjamin  Franklin;  Bigelow,  Life 
of  Benjamin  Franklin,  written  by  himself  and  edited  from  orig- 
inal manuscripts  ; Hale,  Franklin  in  France,  from  original  docu- 
ments; McMaster,  Benjamin  Franklin  as  a Man  of  Letters;  Lives 
of  Franklin,  by  Parton  and  Bigelow.  Other  notable  biographies 
are  ; Patrick  Henry,  by  Wirt  and  by  William  Wirt  Henry  ; Sam- 
uel Adams,  by  Wells  and  by  Hosmer  ; John  Adams,  by  Adams  ; 
James  Otis,  by  Tudor  ; Thomas  Jefferson,  by  De  Witt,  Tucker, 
Smucker,  Randall,  Parton,  and  Morse  ; Alexander  Hamilton,  by 
Hamilton,  Marshall,  and  Morse  ; James  Madison,  by  Rives  and 
Gilman  ; John  Jay,  by  Jay,  Flanders,  and  Whitelocke  ; Nathan- 
iel Greene,  by  Greene  ; Marshall,  by  Magruder ; Gouverneur 
Morris,  by  Roosevelt  ; Shelburne,  by  Fitzmaurice  ; Robert  Mor- 
ris in  Finances  of  the  Revolution,  by  Sumner  ; Joseph  Reed,  by 
Reed  ; Charles  Read,  by  Read  ; Richard  Henry  Lee,  by  Lee  ; 
Arthur  Lee,  by  Lee  ; Stark,  by  Stark  and  Everett  ; Trumbull, 
by  Stuart ; Putnam,  by  Humphreys  and  Tarbox  ; Schuyler,  by 
Lossing. 

The  best  naval  histories  are : Cooper,  Naval  History  of  the 
United  States  ; Clark,  Naval  History  of  the  United  States;  Em- 
mons, Navy  of  the  United  States;  Hale,  Naval  History  of  the 
Revolution,  in  Yol.  VI.  of  Winsor. 

The  State  histories  are  numerous,  and  the  collections  of  the  va- 
rious State  Historical  Societies  grow  larger  and  more  valuable 
every  year.  The  most  important  details  of  various  events  will  be 
found  in  the  following  : Maine,  by  Williamson  ; New  Hamp- 
shire, by  Belknap ; Vermont,  by  Allen,  Hale,  and  Williams  ; 
Massachusetts,  by  Barry,  Bradford,  Minot,  and  Holland  ; Con- 
necticut, by  Hollister,  Peters,  and  Hinman  ; Rhode  Island,  by 
Arnold;  New  York,  by  Dunlap  and  Jones;  Pennsylvania,  by 
Gordon  ; New  Jersey,  by  Mulford  ; Maryland,  by  McSherry  ; 
Virginia,  by  Campbell,  Howison,  Burk,  Girardin,  and  Jefferson  ; 
North  Carolina,  by  Cooke,  Jones,  and  Martin  ; South  Carolina, 
by  Ramsay,  Moultrie,  Gibbs,  Simms,  and  Drayton  ; Georgia,  by 
Stevens  ; Roosevelt,  Winning  of  the  West. 


III. 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 

In  Congress,  July  4,  1776 

A Declamation  by  the  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  in  Congress  Assembled 
When,  in  tlie  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes  necessary  for 
one  people  to  dissolve  the  political  bands  which  have  connected 
them  with  another,  and  to  assume,  among  the  powers  of  the  earth, 
the  separate  and  equal  station  to  w'hicli  the  laws  of  nature  and  of 
nature’s  God  entitle  them,  a decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of 
mankind  requires  that  they  should  declare  the  causes  which  im- 
pel them  to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  he  self-evident — that  all  men  are  created 
equal ; that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  in- 
alienable rights  ; that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pur- 
suit of  happiness.  That,  to  secure  these  rights,  governments  are 
instituted  among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  con- 
sent of  the  governed  ; that,  whenever  any  form  of  government 
becomes  destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to 
alter  or  abolish  it.  and  to  institute  a new  government,  laying  its 
foundations  on  such  principles,  and  organizing  its  powers  in  such 
form,  as  to  them  shall  seem  most  likely  to  effect  their  safety  and 
happiness.  Prudence,  indeed,  w'ill  dictate  that  governments  long 
established  should  not  be  changed  for  light  and  transient  causes ; 
and,  accordingly,  all  experience  hath  shown  that  mankind  are 
more  disposed  to  suffer,  while  evils  are  sufferable,  than  to  right 
themselves  by  abolishing  the  forms  to  which  they  are  accustomed. 
But  wThen  a long  train  of  abuses  and  usurpations,  pursuing  invari- 
ably the  same  object,  evinces  a design  to  reduce  them  under  ab- 
solute despotism,  it  is  their  right,  it  is  their  duty,  to  throw  off 
such  government,  and  to  provide  new'  guards  for  their  future 
security.  Such  has  been  the  patient  sufferance  of  these  colonies, 
and  such  is  now  the  necessity  which  constrains  them  to  alter  their 


398 


APPENDIX 


former  systems  of  government.  The  history  of  the  present  king 
of  Great  Britain  is  a history  of  repeated  injuries  and  usurpations, 
all  having  in  direct  object  the  establishment  of  an  absolute 
tyranny  over  these  States.  To  prove  this,  let  facts  be  submitted 
to  a candid  world. 

1.  He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome  and 
necessary  for  the  public  good. 

2.  Pie  has  forbidden  his  governors  to  pass  laws  of  immediate 
and  pressing  importance,  unless  suspended  in  their  operations  till 
his  assent  should  he  obtained ; and,  when  so  suspended,  he  has 
utterly  neglected  to  attend  to  them. 

3.  He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accommodation  of 
large  districts  of  people,  unless  those  people  would  relinquish  the 
right  of  representation  in  the  Legislature — a right  inestimable  to 
them,  and  formidable  to  tyrants  only. 

4.  He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  unusual, 
uncomfortable,  and  distant  from  the  repository  of  their  public 
records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  fatiguing  them  into  compliance 
with  his  measures. 

5.  He  has  dissolved  representative  houses  repeatedly,  for  op- 
posing, with  manly  firmness,  his  invasions  on  the  rights  of  the 
people. 

6.  He  has  refused,  for  a long  time  after  such  dissolutions,  to 
cause  others  to  be  elected,  whereby  the  legislative  powers,  in- 
capable of  annihilation,  have  returned  to  the  people  at  large  for 
their  exercise ; the  State  remaining,  in  the  meantime,  exposed 
to  all  the  dangers  of  invasions  from  without,  and  convulsions 
within. 

7.  He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of  these  States  ; 
for  that  purpose  obstructing  the  laws  for  the  naturalization  of 
foreigners  ; refusing  to  pass  others  to  encourage  their  migration 
hither,  and  raising  the  conditions  of  new  appropriations  of  lands. 

8.  He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice,  by  refusing 
his  assent  to  laws  for  establishing  judiciary  powers. 

9.  He  has  made  judges  dependent  of  his  will  alone  for  the  tenure 
on  their  offices,  and  the  amount  and  payment  of  their  salaries. 

10.  He  has  erected  a multitude  of  new  offices,  and  sent  hither 
swarms  of  officers,  to  harass  our  people  and  eat  out  their  substance. 

11.  He  has  kept  among  us  in  times  of  peace,  standing  armies, 
without  the  consent  of  our  Legislatures. 

12.  He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of  and 
superior  to,  the  civil  power. 


appendix 


399 


13.  He  lias  combined  with  others  to  subject  us  to  a jurisdiction 
foreign  to  our  constitutions,  and  unacknowledged  by  our  laws ; 
giving  his  assent  to  their  acts  of  pretended  legislation  ; 

14.  For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us  ; 

15.  For  protecting  them,  by  a mock  trial,  from  punishment  for 
any  murders  which  they  should  commit  on  the  inhabitants  of 
these  States  ; 

16.  For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world  ; 

17.  For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent ; 

18.  For  depriving  us,  in  many  cases,  of  the  benefits  of  a trial 
by  jury  ; 

19.  For  transporting  us  beyond  seas,  to  be  tried  for  pretended 
offences ; 

20.  For  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a neigh- 
boring province,  establishing  therein  an  arbitrary  government, 
and  enlarging  its  boundaries,  so  as  to  render  it  at  once  an  example 
and  fit  instrument  for  introducing  the  same  absolute  rule  into 
these  colonies ; 

21.  For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most  valuable 
laws,  and  altering,  fundamentally,  the  forms  of  our  govern- 
ments ; 

22.  For  suspending  our  own  Legislatures,  and  declaring  them- 
selves invested  with  powrer  to  legislate  for  us  in  all  cases  what- 
soever. 

23.  He  has  abdicated  government  here,  by  declaring  us  out  of 
his  protection,  and  waging  war  against  us. 

24.  He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burned  our 
towns,  and  destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people. 

25.  He  is  at  this  time  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign 
mercenaries  to  complete  the  works  of  death,  desolation  and  tyr- 
anny, already  begun  with  circumstances  of  cruelty  and  perfidy 
scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous  ages,  and  totally  un- 
worthy the  head  of  a civilized  nation. 

26.  He  has  constrained  our  fellow-citizens,  taken  captive  on  the 
high  seas,  to  bear  arms  against  their  country,  to  become  the  ex- 
ecutioners of  their  friends  and  brethren,  or  to  fall  themselves  by 
their  hands. 

27.  He  has  excited  domestic  insurrection  among  us,  and  has 
endeavored  to  bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers  the  merci- 
less Indian  savages,  wThose  known  rule  of  warfare  is  an  undis- 
tinguished destruction  of  all  ages,  sexes,  and  conditions. 

In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions  we  have  petitioned  for 


400 


APPENDIX 


redress  in  the  most  humble  terms ; our  repeated  petitions  have 
been  answered  only  by  repeated  injury.  A prince  whose  char- 
acter is  thus  marked  by  every  act  which  may  define  a tyrant,  is 
unfit  to  be  the  ruler  of  a free  people. 

Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  our  attentions  to  our  British 
brethren.  We  have  warned  them,  from  time  to  time,  of  attempts 
by  their  legislature  to  extend  an  unwarrantable  jurisdiction  over 
us.  We  have  reminded  them  of  the  circumstances  of  our  emi- 
gration and  settlement  here.  We  have  appealed  to  their  native 
justice  and  magnanimity,  and  we  have  conjured  them  by  the  ties 
of  our  common  kindred  to  disavow  these  usurpations,  which 
would  inevitably  interrupt  our  connections  and  correspondence. 
They,  too,  have  been  deaf  to  the  voice  of  justice  and  of  consan- 
guinity. We  must,  therefore,  acquiesce  in  the  necessity  which 
denounces  our  separation,  and  hold  them  as  we  hold  the  rest  of 
mankind — enemies  in  war  ; in  peace,  friends. 

We,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  the  United  States  of 
America  in  general  Congress  assembled,  appealing  to  the  Supreme 
Judge  of  the  world  for  the  rectitude  of  our  intentions,  do,  in  the 
name  and  by  the  authority  of  the  good  people  of  these  colonies, 
solemnly  publish  and  declare  that  these  united  colonies  are,  and 
of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  States  ; that  they  are 
absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  that  all 
political  connection  between  them  and  the  state  of  Great  Britain 
is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved,  and  that,  as  free  and  inde- 
pendent States,  they  have  full  power  to  levy  war,  conclude  peace, 
contract  alliances,  establish  commerce,  and  do  all  other  acts  and 
things  which  independent  States  may  of  right  do.  And  for  the 
support  of  this  Declaration,  with  a firm  reliance  on  the  protection 
of  Divine  Providence,  we  mutually  pledge  to  each  other  our  lives, 
our  fortunes,  and  our  sacred  honor. 


INDEX 


Abercrombie,  General,  5,  51 ; be- 
fore Ticonderoga,  65,  67,  69 
Aborigines.  See  Indians 
Abraham,  Heights  of,  Wolfe’s  plan 
to  scale,  88 ; battle  on  the,  93, 
94,  95 

Absolutism,  work  of,  1 
Acadia,  boundaries  of,  46  ; treat- 
ment of,  by  English,  46.  Winslow 
in,  48 ; dispersion  of  the  natives 
of,  48 

Act  of  Settlement,  2 
Adams,  John,  counsel  for  English 
soldiers,  158;  his  broad  views  of 
government.  209 ; proposes  in 
Congress  the  independent  govern- 
ment of  the  colonies,  2i5 ; his 
resolution  ended  the  proprietary 
government  of  Pennsylvania, 
225 ; argues  in  Congress  for  the 
declaration  of  independence,  229  ; 
peace  commissioner  at  The  Hague, 

Adams,  Samuel,  on  the  Stamp  Act, 
135;  pleads  for  liberty,  133;  his 
patriotism,  157  ; after  the  “Bos- 
ton Massacre,”  158;  organizes 
committees  of  correspondence, 
161  ; his  Bights  of  the  Colon- 
ies,” 161;  reads  Hutchinson  let- 
ters to  Massachusetts  Assembly, 
163 ; in  the  first  Continental 
Congress,  176,  184 ; excepted 
from  amnesty,  200,  213 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  Peace  of,  2,  38 
Alamance,  battle  on  the,  159 
Albany,  troops  billeted  in,  52 
Alexandria,  Congress  at,  41 
Allen,  Ethan,  his  readiness  to  seize 
Ticonderoga,  183;  and  Arnold 
seize  Ticonderoga,  189 ; cap- 
tured and  sent  to  England,  203 
America,  geography  of,  24 
American,  the  name,  132,  172 


American  Association,  206 

American  Colonies.  See  Colonies. 

Americans,  the,  proclaimed  rebels, 
211 

Amherst,  character  of,  61  ; at 
Louisburg,  64  ; loiters  at  Crown 
Point,  81 ; captures  Montreal,  98 

Amsterdam,  commercial  treaty  pro- 
posed by,  351 

Andre,  Major,  capture  of,  326 

Anglican  Church,  the,  in  the  United 
States,  378 

Anglo-Indians,  their  influence  in 
parliamentary  corruption,  146 

Armstrong.  John,  at  Kittanning, 
54  ; at  Fort  Duquesne,  73 

Army,  American,  weakness  of,  245  ; 
plans  for  organizing,  259;  dis- 
banded, 376 

Army  of  the  North  opposed  to 
Burgoyne,  275 

Arnold,  Benedict,  at  Boston,  187  ; 
expedition  of,  to  Canada,  203 ; 
makes  a successful  attack  on  the 
English  army  in  Connecticut, 
267' ; resigns  his  command  after 
Bemis’s  Heights,  276 ; leads  the 
assault  at  Freeman’s  farm  as  a 
volunteer,  278 ; in  command  of 
Philadelphia,  300;  courtmarrial- 
ed,  301 ; reprimanded  by  Wash- 
ington, 325 ; his  treason,  325  et 
seq.  ; in  Virginia,  329  ; at  Groton 
Heights,  333 

Austria,  alliance  of,  with  Russia, 
38  ; alliance  with  France,  39 


Baptist  Church,  the,  in  the  United 
States,  378 
Barlow,  Joel,  386 

Barre'  replies  to  the  plea  of  grati- 
tude, 121 ; opposes  Stamp  Act, 
131,  133 


402 


INDEX 


Beaumarchais  in  England,  218,  220  ; | 
secures  a subsidy  for  America,  j 

Bedford,  leader  of  the  old  Whigs, 
129  ; his  followers  predominant 
in  the  Chatham-Grafton  minis- 
try, 148 ; his  followers  and  the 
new  Tories,  149 

Bemis’s  Heights,  battle  of,  276,  the 
second  action  at,  278 
Bennington,  battle  of,  271 
Bernard,  governor  of  Massachu- 
setts, 125  ; demands  money  from 
Massachusetts  Legislature,  126  ; 
summons  man-of-war  from  Hali- 
fax, 151 ; his  recall  demanded, 

1 55  ; recalled,  157 
Bigot,  knavery  of,  59  ; peculations 
of,  75 

Bill  of  Rights,  3 

Billeting  Act,  51,  52  ; consequences 
of,  54  ; resisted  in  New  York,  144, 
145 

Blockade  and  contraband,  Eng- 
land’s position  as  to,  350 
Board  of  customs,  established  at 
Boston,  146,  149  ; finds  it  im- 
possible to  enforce  the  law,  150 
Bolingbroke,  his  theories,  117,  128 
Boone,  Daniel,  in  Kentucky,  L53 
Boscawen,  in  the  ISt.  Lawrence,  41 
Boston,  Stamp  Act  riots  in,  135; 
Board  of  Customs  established  in, 
146,  149;  threatens  the  revenue 
officers,  118 ; revenue  riots  in, 
151  ; “ Massacre,”  158  ; the  “ tea- 
party  ” in,  167,  168;  North’s  re- 
taliatory measures  against,  168  ; 
Port  Act,  idem ; union  of  colon- 
ies, to  support,  170;  fortified  by 
the  English,  175  ; invested  by  the 
Americans,  187;  besieged  by 
Washington,  205 ; evacuated  by 
the  British,  206 ; population  of, 
381 

Botetourt  dissolves  Virginia  Legis- 
lature, 155,  172 

Bougainville  arrives,  53 ; at  Isle- 
aux-Noix,  98 

Bouquet  at  Bedford  and  Grant’s 
Hill,  72 

Bourlamarque  at  Isle-  aux  - Noix, 
81  ; at  Montreal,  98 
Brackenridge,  Hugh  H.,  386 
Braddock,  character  of,  40 ; con- 
venes Alexandria  Congress,  41 ; 


march  to  Fort  Duquesne,  43  ; de- 
feat of,  44  ; death  of,  45 
Brandywine,  battle  of  the,  273 
Bribery  in  English  politics.  4,  146 
Brunswickers  and  other  Geimans 
sold  to  George  III.,  212 
Bunker  Hill,  199;  battle  of,  200  et 
seq. 

Burgesses,  House  of,  at  Williams- 
burg reject  North’s  proposal,  197 
Burgoyne,  John,  181  ; in  Canada, 
267  ; takes  Ticonderoga,  268  ; ad- 
vances from  the  north,  276  ; re- 
treats after  the  engagements  at 
Bemis’s  Heights,  279;  surrenders 
at  Saratoga,  279;  effect  of  his 
surrender  in  England,  288 
Burke,  relation  of,  to  the  Whigs, 
128  ; to  Rockingham,  139  ; sup- 
ports position  of  Massachusetts, 
154  ; colonial  agent  for  New  York, 
163;  opposes  the  penal  acts,  168, 
169;  his  eloquent  eulogium  on 
America  in  Parliament,  180;  his 
ineffectual  plea  for  reconciliation, 
182 

Bute’s  ministry,  109,  127 ; fall  of, 
128 

Byng,  Admiral,  5 

Cabinet,  the  English,  3,  122  ; re- 
sponsibility of  ministers  in,  129 
Calvinism  in  America,  160,  378 
Camden,  defeat  of  Gates  at,  318 
Canada,  26  ; expedition  of  Schuyler 
against,  203  ; Burgoyne  in,  267 
Cannibalism  of  Indians,  57 
Cape  Fear  River,  Clinton  enters,  222 
Carleton  defeated  by  Schuyler,  ~03 ; 
made  commander-in-chief  of  Can- 
ada, 216 

Castine,  failure  of  the  expedition 
against,  310 

Cartwright,  opposes  North’s  penal 
acts,  168 

Catherine  of  Russia,  13 
Charles  III.  of  Spain,  108  ; declares 
war  on  England,  110 
Charleston  bombarded  by  Clinton, 
223 ; captured  by  the  British, 
315  ; evacuation  of,  366 
Charters,  character  of  colonial,  122 
Chatham  (sec  Pitt),  his  coalition  with 
Grafton,  143  ; dares  not  remove 
Townshend,  144 ; reconstructs  the 
ministry  cn  Townshend’s  death, 


INDEX 


40  b 


148  : his  humiliation  as  king's  | 
confidant,  149 ; resigns  power, 
154  ; suggests  parliamentary  re- 
form, 157 ; eloquence  of  his  plea 
for  conciliation,  180  ; last  appear- 
ance in  Parliament,  291 
Cherokees  quarrel  with  Lyttleton, 
100  ; capture  Fort  Loudon,  101  ; 
settlement  of  their  lands,  101 
Choiscul,  French  minister,  107, 
10S ; foresees  American  independ- 
ence, 114 ; his  interest  in  Ameri- 
can colonies,  147 

Churches,  the  different  denomina- 
tions, in  the  United  States,  at  the 
close  of  the  Revolution,  378 
Cincinnati,  the  Order  of  the,  376 
Clark,  expedition  of,  into  the  inte- 
rior, 305  et  seq.;  recaptures  Vin- 
cennes, 306 

Clinton,  George,  defends  Fort  Clin- 
ton, 277 

Clinton,  Sir  Henry,  181  ; leaves 
Boston  for  Cape  Fear  River,  221  ; 
attacks  Charleston,  223  ; returns 
to  New  York,  223;  passes  the 
Highlands,  277 ; replaces  Howe, 
294  ; despatches  an  expedition  to 
the  Chesapeake,  308 ; desires  to 
hold  New  York  and  abandon  Vir- 
ginia, 339 

Colden  surrenders  stamps,  139 
Colleges  in  America,  132,  380 
Colonies  ( see  American  colonies), 
character  of,  7,  37 ; and  the 
French  War,  79 ; strength  of 
their  forces,  79 ; relation  to  each 
other,  99  ; discontent  of,  101,  120  ; 
institutions  of,  110,  115;  separa- 
tion from  England,  L16;  charter 
rights  of,  1 18, 122  ; theory  of,  120, 
122,  147,  157 ; wealth  and  educa- 
tion, 131 ; colleges  in,  132,  3S0 ; un- 
ion against  Stamp  Act,  132,  138  ; 
jurisdiction  over  western  lands, 
137 ; English  grievances  against, 
144;  Choiseul’s  interest  in,  147; 
their  governments  to  be  unified, 
148 ; dissolution  of  their  royal 
governments,  155,  156;  their  loy- 
alty, 157 ; effects  of  oppressing 
the,  160;  social  and  commercial 
state  of,  161  ; collapse  of  their  ad- 
ministration, 162  ; united  to  sup- 
port Boston,  170;  their  reception 
of  Boston  Port  Act,  172  ; organi- 


zation of,  after  Concord  and  Lex- 
ington, 187;  destitution  of  their 
troops,  343 

Colonists,  loyalty  and  self-reliance 
of,  192  ; character  of  the,  193 ; 
their  prosperity,  193 ; large  con- 
servative element  among,  194 ; 
the  spirit  of  union  among,  194 

Columbia  or  King's  College,  132, 
379;  Jay  a graduate  of,  171; 
Hamilton  a graduate  of,  171 

Commerce,  English,  captured  in 
the  first  year  of  the  war,  260; 
American,  regulation  of,  by  Con- 
gress, 210 

Commissioners  arrive  with  the  con- 
ciliatory offers  of  Parliament,  294 

Committees  of  correspondence,  161, 
162 

Concord,  the  conflict  at,  184  etseq.; 
losses  at,  186 

Confederated  States,  use  of  the 
term,  303 

Confederation,  weakness  of,  284 : 
the  creation  of  the  States,  234 ; 
its  powers  and  lack  of  executive, 
235  ; articles  of,  signed  by  the 
States,  295 

Congress,  meeting  and  composition 
of  the  Stamp  Act,  136  ; memori- 
als drawn  by,  137 ; influence  of, 
138,  139;  its  petitions  disregard- 
ed, 140  ; new,  suggested  by  New 
York,  156,  171  ; other  colonies 
accept  proposition  for,  171  ; char- 
acter of  delegations  to  first  con- 
tinental, 174 ; the  idea  of  a 
general,  175  (see  Continental  Con- 
gress) ; the  first  proceedings  in, 
176  etseq.;  declaration  of  rights 
by,  177  ; acts  of,  discussed 
throughout  the  country,  182 : 
an  English  convention,  194  ; ques- 
tions before,  196  ; petition  of,  to 
the  king,  196 ; moderation  of, 
197 ; appoints  generals,  208  ; is- 
sues bills  of  credit,  208  ; regula- 
tion of  American  commerce  by, 
210 ; petitions  George  III.  for 
a restoration  of  the  old  govern- 
ment, 212;  authorizes  independ- 
ent government  by  the  colonies, 
215;  avoids  the  laying  of  direct 
taxes,  218  ; the  debate  in,  on  Lee’s 
resolution  for  independence,  227  ; 
committee  of,  on  the  declaration 


404 


INDEX 


of  independence,  228 ; adopts  j 
Jefferson's  document,  229  ; a per- 
fectly representative  assemblage, 
231  ; completes  the  federal  union, 
232 ; a disposition  to  limit  its 
powers  to  the  minimum,  233 ; its 
inefficiency  during  the  war,  23ti  ; 
finally  authorizes  long  enlist- 
ments, 216 ; leaves  Philadelphia, 
251 ; at  a low  ebb,  282  ; ratifies 
the  treaty  with  Prance,  292  ; re- 
fuses conciliation.  291 ; appoints 
Franklin  sole  plenipotentiary  in 
Paris,  305 ; terms  of  peace  pro- 
posed by,  355 ; held  in  low  es- 
teem after  the  war,  371 
Connecticut,  Stamp  Act  in,  131 ; 
cautious  in  regard  to  her  charter, 
14S  ; seizes  Wyoming  Valley,  162  ; 
supports  idea  of  general  congress, 
171 

Constitution,  “ spirit  of,”  132, 139  ; 
the  American,  in  part  the  work 
of  a later  generation,  371 
Constitutional  government,  new 
issue  in,  116,  118,  123,  132 
Constitutional  revolution  in  Amer- 
ica, first  stage  of,  6 ; second 
stage  of,  147 ; third  stage  of,  157 
Continental,  the  name,  172 
Continental  congress,  suggested, 
175  ; composition  of  the  first,  176  ; 
the  second,  195 

Continental  currency,  issued,  208  ; 
depreciation  of,  283,  322  ; amount 
and  value  of,  285 

Conway,  General,  leaves  for  France, 
293 

Cornwallis  sent  to  the  South,  321  ; 
treatment  of  South  Carolina  by, 
317 ; retreat  of,  after  King’s 
Mountain,  321  ; in  Virginia,  331 
etseq.;  defeats  Wayne  at  Greene 
Springs,  339  ; ill-feeling  between, 
and  Clinton,  339  ; his  position  at 
Yorktown,  340  ; surrender  of,  at 
Yorktown,  336 ; surrender,  effect 
of,  in  England,  353 
Courts  of  vice-admiralty,  without 
juries,  134 

Cowpens,  battle  of,  331 
Crown  Point,  37 ; importance  of, 
49 ; captured  by  Johnson,  50 ; 
evacuated  by  French,  81 
Crown,  supremacy  of,  118,  122 
Cumberland,  Duke  of,  5,  42 


Currency,  large  issues  of,  307 ; de. 
preciation  of,  308 

Cushing  discusses  general  congress 
with  Franklin,  175 

Danbury,  American  stores  de- 
stroyed at,  by  Tryon,  267 
Dartmouth  continues  Hillsbor- 
ough’s colonial  policy,  162 
Dartmouth  College  established  for 
the  Indians,  183,  380 
Davis,  Isaac,  185 

Deane,  Silas,  seeks  aid  in  France, 
219 ; sent  by  Congress  to  London 
as  agent,  262 ; his  extravagant 
negotiations,  263 

Declaration  of  the  rights  of  the 
colonies  by  the  first  Continental 
Congress,  177 

Declaration  of  Independence,  Jef- 
ferson’s document  adopted  by 
Congress,  229 ; the  popular  re- 
ception of,  230;  adopted  by  New 
York  and  New  Jersey,  230 ; its 
character  in  the  estimate  of  pos- 
terity, 231 

Declaratory  Act  passed,  140 ; mean- 
ing of,  141,  142;  effects  of,  145 
De  Grasse  arrives  in  the  Chesa- 
peake, 340 ; defeats  the  English 
fleet  in  the  Chesapeake,  344 
Delawares.  See  Indians. 
Denominations,  religious,  8,  378 
D’Estaing,  392  ; fails  to  enter  New 
York  Harbor  and  goes  to  New- 
ort,  301  et  seq.  ; wounded,  at 
avannah,  814 
Detroit,  37  ; occupied  by  the  Eng- 
lish, 101  ; besieged  by  Pontiac, 
102 ; relief  of,  103 

Dickinson,  John,  writes  “ Farmer’s 
Letters,”  147  ; his  loyalty  to  Eng- 
land, 157  ; moves  Pennsylvania 
to  accept  the  proposition  of  a 
general  congress,  171,  174,  181  ; 
argues  for  federation  before  sep- 
aration, 229 

Dieskau,  career  of,  41 ; at  Crown 
Point,  50 

Dissent  in  America,  9 
Dominica  captured  by  the  French, 
313 

Drueour  at  Louisburg,  64 
Dunbar,  retreat  of,  from  Fort  Du- 
quesne,  45 

Dunmore,  prorogues  Virginia  Legis- 


INDEX 


405 


lature,  173  ; flight  of,  to  Williams- 
burg, 188 ; summons  the  House 
of  Burgesses  to  meet  at  Williams- 
burg, 197 

Dwight,  Timothy,  3S6 

Dyer,  Oliver,  on  the  Stamp  Act,  131 

Easton,  Indian  conference  at,  73, 
101 

Edwards,  Jonathan,  387 
England  ; her  policy  m America,  21, 
2.1,  26,  37 ; successes  at  sea  in 
1759,  77 ; her  conquests  from 
France,  103,  104,  108;  her  naval 
supremacy,  101  ; her  territorial 
expansion,  112 ; separation  from 
America,  116  ; insufficiency  of  her 
constitution,  123 ; patronage  in, 
116  ; her  view  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley.  152  ; her  diplomatic  isola- 
tion, 155  ; liberal  opinions  in,  157 ; 
effort  of  the  Bourbon  powers  to 
deprive,  of  her  maritime  and 
colonial  powers,  319  ; practice  of, 
in  regard  to  blockade  and  contra- 
band, 350  ; desires  the  alliance  of 
Russia,  350  ; preparations  for  the 
second  campaign  of  the  war,  265 
English  ministry  in  sore  straits, 
30o 

Europe,  the  character  of  the  Ameri- 
can situation  not  realized  in,  190 
Eutaw  Springs,  battle  of,  336 
Express  riders,  system  of,  created, 
177 

Expenses  of  the  Revolutionary  War, 
371 

Family  compact  of  the  Bourbons, 
108 

“Farmer’s  Letters,”  written  by 
Dickinson,  117;  answered  by 
North’s  ministry,  155 
Fireships  of  the  French,  81 
Fisheries  off  Newfoundland,  21 
Fishing  on  the  Banks  forbidden, 
181 

Fisheries,  Marbois’s  letter  concern- 
ing, 362 

Flag,  the  first  American,  210,  279 
Forbes,  character  of,  61  ; expedi- 
tion to  Fort  Duquesne,  71  ; illness 
of,  73  ; captures  Fort  Duquesne, 
73  ; death  of,  74 

Foreign  aid  hastened,  but  did  not 

26 


determine,  American  independ- 
ence, 261 

Fort  Bull  captured  by  French,  53 
Fort  Duquesne,  27,  13,  71  ; capture 
of,  73  ; renamed  Pittsburgh,  74 
Fort  Edward,  50 

Fort  Lee,  captured  by  Howe,  215 
Fort  Le  Bceuf,  37 
Fort  Loudon  built,  51;  captured 
by  Cherokees,  101 

Fort  William  Henry,  massacre  of, 
57 

Fort  Stanwix,  269 
Fort  Washington  captured  by 
Howe,  214 

Fort  William  Henry,  50 
Fox  opposes  North’s  penal  acts,  168 
France,  in  America,  20,  23,  24,  25, 
26,  37  ; losses  in  1759,  80  ; in  the 
following  years,  103,  104, 108  ; her 
attitude  toward  American  Re- 
volution, 146;  anxious  to  renew 
conflict  with  England  , 117 ; in- 
terest of,  in  American  affairs,  218 ; 
subsidy  from,  262 ; volunteers 
from,  264;  American  vessels  pro- 
tected in  ports  of,  265  ; secret  al- 
liance with,  287  ; treaty  with,  rat- 
ified, 292  ; forces  of,  at  Yorktown, 
340,  346 
Franchise,  11 

Franklin,  on  internal  and  external 
taxation,  140  ; his  loyalty  to  Eng- 
land, 157 ; his  relation  to  the 
Hutchinson  letters,  163 ; before 
the  privy  council,  161 ; discusses 
general  congress  with  Cushing, 
175  ; request  of,  for  a hearing  re- 
fused, 180;  returns  to  America, 
181;  commissioned  to  create  a 
post-office,  210,  21 3 ; becomes  the 
rage  in  Paris,  263  ; his  negotia- 
tions successful,  265  ; influence 
of,  in  France,  286,  292  ; American 
peace  commissioner,  355 ; calls 
Jay  from  Madrid,  356  ; informs 
Oswald  what  the  conditions  of 
peace  would  be,  362,  387 
Frederick  the  Great,  13,  39;  in  the 
Seven  Years’  Wax,  62,  76,  77, 104; 
hated  by  Pompadour,  107 ; his 
alliance  with  Russia,  109 
“Freeman,”  of  New  York,  on 
Stamp  Act,  134 
Freneau,  Philip,  386 
Freeman’s  Farm,  battle  of,  278 


406 


INDEX 


Gadsden,  Christopher,  joins  Lyt- 
tleton’s  expedition,  100;  his  broad 
plea  for  union,  137  ; opposes  peti- 
tions of  Congress,  138 
Gage,  his  inefficiency  at  Niagara, 
SI  ; made  governor  of  Massachu- 
setts, 170  ; proposes  savage  auxil- 
iaries, 175;  sends  a brigade  to 
Jamaica  Plain,  183,  180  ; expels 
the  citizens  of  Boston,  187 ; re- 
called, 211 

Gaspee,  burning  of  the,  160 
Gates,  General,  intrigues  to  super- 
sede Schuyler,  207  ; army  of,  op- 
posed to  Burgoyne,  275  et  seq.  ; 
his  lenient  terms  to  Burgoyne, 
279;  defeat  of,  at  Camden,  318; 
replaced  by  Greene,  322 
George  I.  and  the  Whigs,  4 
George  II.,  13  ; death  of,  105 
George  III.,  accession  of,  105;  his 
character,  ibid.  ; his  policy,  106, 
107  ; the  faction  of  his  “ friends,” 
106  ; his  attitude  concerning  the 
Stamp  Act,  140  ; becomes  virtual 
prime  minister,  146;  efforts  of, 
to  raise  troops  in  Europe,  211 
George,  Lake,  50 

Georgia  adopts  the  articles  of  the 
American  Association,  206  ; over- 
run by  the  English,  313 
German  troops  sold  to  George  III., 

212 

Germain  orders  a concentration  of 
the  English  forces  in  New  York, 
295 

Germantown,  Howe  in,  273 ; the 
battle  of,  280 

Gist,  Nathaniel,  put  in  command 
of  Indian  forces,  294 
Governments,  colonial,  11 
Grafton  warns  the  king,  216 
Grant’s  Hill,  defeat  at.  72 
Grattan,  the  Irish  agitator,  157 
Gratitude,  plea  of,  121 
Green,  Jacob,  writes  the  constitu- 
tion of  New  Jersey,  225 
Green  Mountain  boys  resist  the 
sheriff,  182 

Greene,  Nathaniel,  at  Boston,  187 ; 
Governor  of  Rhode  Island,  207 ; 
taken  by  surprise  at  Port  Lee, 
245;  reorganizes  the  Southern 
army,  330  ; his  defeat  at  Guilford 
by  Cornwallis,  332  ; defeated  at 
Hobkirk  Hill  by  Rawdon,  335 


Grenville,  his  theory  of  taxation, 
119;  secretary  of  state,  128;  be- 
comes prime  minister,  128;  sup- 
ports Stamp  Act,  139  ; his  minis- 
try falls,  139 

Grenville,  Thomas,  negotiates  with 
Vergennes  concerning  the  inde- 
pendence of  America,  357 
Groton  Heights,  quarter  refused  by 
the  British  at,  333 
Guilford,  battle  of,  332 

Hale,  Nathan,  hung  as  a spy, 

242 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  in  the  New 
Y'ork  public  meeting  concerning 
first  Continental  Congress,  174  ; 
in  command  of  an  artillery  com- 
pany, 240 ; leads  the  assault  at 
Yorktown,  344 

Hancock,  John,  seizure  of  his  sloop 
Liberty,  151,  184;  excepted  from 
amnesty,  200 
Harvard  College,  132,  380 
Hawlej',  thinks  internal  and  exter- 
nal taxation  identical,  147 
Hayne,  Isaac,  hanged  by  Rawdon, 
336 

Henry,  Patrick,  oil  Stamp  Act,  134  ; 
on  taxation,  134  ; a leader  in  Vir- 
ginia, 155  ; marches  with  the  mil- 
itia to  Williamsburg,  188 
Herkimer,  General,  at  Oriskanv, 
270 

Hessians,  scandalous  conduct  of, 
in  New  Jersey,  252 ; the  traffic 
in,  289 

Hillsborough,  his  policy  as  colonial 
secretary,  148  ; issues  warrant  for 
Hutchinson’s  pay,  150;  his  in- 
structions to  Bernard,  150 
Hobbes’s  Leviathan,  117 
Hobkirk  Hill,  defeat  of  Greene  at, 
334 

Holland,  return  of  the  Scotch  bri- 
gade demanded  of,  211  ; repudi- 
ate the  commercial  treaty  pro- 
posed by  Amsterdam,  352 
Holmes,  Admiral,  at  Quebec,  85  ; 

movements  of  his  fleet,  89 
Howe,  Lord,  character  of,  61;  death 
at  Ticonderoga,  67 
Howe,  General,  made  commander- 
in-chief,  181  ; tradition  of,  at 
Mrs.  Murray’s,  242;  his  long  jour- 
ney to  Philadelphia,  272 


INDEX 


407 


Howe,  the  brothers,  refused  rein-  I 
forcements,  direct  their  attention 
to  Philadelphia,  260 
Hunter,  James,  leader  of  the  North 
Carolina  regulators,  159 
Hutchinson,  Thomas,  lieutenant- 
governor  of  Massachusetts,  125, 
157  ; the  warrant  for  his  pay,  149 ; 
Franklin  and  the  letters  of,  163  ; 
recalled  to  England,  170 

Illinois,  county  of,  established, 
300 

Independence,  feeling  for,  123 
Indians,  and  white  settlers,  20  ; 
of  Central  America,  27 ; of  the 
Gulf,  28  ; the  Algonquin  or  Dela- 
ware, 28,  32  ; the  Six  Nations  or 
Iroquois,  29,  30,  31,  32  ; the  Da- 
kotah,  33 ; alliances  of,  33,  34 ; 
and  English,  34, 113  ; and  French, 
35,  113;  their  outrages  at  Ticon- 
deroga,  57  ; their  discontent  with 
the  English,  101  ; their  conspir- 
acy under  Pontiac,  102  ; Hills- 
borough’s boundary  to  their  ter- 
ritory, 152  ; in  the  Revolutionary 
War,  175 

Indian  brutalities  under  Burgoyne, 
268  ; excesses  of,  avenged,  309 
Institutions  of  English  in  America, 
7,  12,  123 

Ireland,  English  rule  in,  16  ; Pres- 
byterians in,  16 

Irish  emigration  to  the  continent, 
18;  to  America,  18,  19 
Isle  - aux  - Noix,  heid  by  Bourla- 
marque,  8 

J^gPER,  Sergeant,  at  Fort  Moultrie, 

Jay,  John,  chairman  of  New  York 
committee,  171,  181 ; American 
peace  commissioner  summoned 
from  Madrid  by  Franklin,  356 ; 
his  position  as  to  the  treaty, 
359  ; proposals  of,  to  Shelbourn 
through  Vaughan,  362 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  a leader  in  Vir- 
ginia, 155,  1 83 ; address  of,  to 
Dunmore,  197 ; his  Declaration 
of  Independence  adopted  with 
amendments,  229,  387 
Jenkinson,  author  of  the  Stamp 
Act,  131 

Johnson,  Sir  William,  36;  cap- 


tures Crown  Point,  50  ; at  Ticon- 
deroga,  68  ; at  Niagara,  80 
Johnson.  Samuel,  Dr.,  181 
Jones,  Paul,  exploits  of,  311 
J udiciary,  the  English,  3 ; salaries 
of  New  York,  125;  in  New  Jer- 
sey, Maryland  and  Pennsylvania, 
126;  appointment  for  life,  137 
Jury,  trial  by,  137 

Kalb,  Baron  de,  enlists  in  the 
American  cause,  264 
Kant  foresees  American  independ- 
ence, 114 

Ka>kaskia,  settlement  of,  by  Clark, 
306 

Kentucky,  explored  by  Daniel 
Boone,  153 ; county  of,  recog- 
nized, 305 

“King’s  Friends,”  faction  of,  106 
King’s  Mountain,  battle  of,  320 ; 

character  of  the  fight,  321 
Kittanning  captured  by  Armstrong, 
54 

Knox  founds  the  Order  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati, 376 
Kosciusko,  264 

Lafayette,  enlists  in  the  American 
cause,  264 ; the  idol  of  the  United 
States,  292 ; returns  to  France 
and  brings  back  a fleet  under 
Rochambeau,  324 ; in  command 
in  Virginia,  329,  337 ; retreats 
before  Cornwallis,  338 ; before 
Yorktown,  340,  344 
Laurens,  Henry,  negotiates  a com- 
mercial treaty  with  the  Dutch, 
351 

Lee,  Arthur,  in  London,  262 
Lee,  Charles,  won  over  to  the  Ameri- 
can cause  by  Sears,  and  ap- 
pointed major-general,  220 ; his 
popularity,  221 ; refuses  to  obey 
Washington’s  orders,  246 ; cap- 
tured by  the  British,  249 ; ex- 
changed for  General  Prescott, 
249  ; his  treachery  at  Monmouth, 
297 

Lee,  Henry,  captures  Paulus  Hook, 
309 

Lee,  Richard  Henry,  his  resolution 
in  Congress,  225 

Lee,  William,  an  American  agent 
in  London,  351 

Levis  arrives,  53  ; at  Quebec,  85. 


408 


INDEX 


80  ; at  Montreal,  88 ; attacks  Ste. 
Foy,  96 ; retreat  to  Montreal,  97  ; 
surrender  of,  98 
Lewis  XV.,  13 

Lexington,  the  conflict  at,  184; 
losses  at,  186 

Liberals,  spirit  of  English,  139 
Liberty,  Sons  of,  on  Stamp  Act, 
135 

Ligneris  abandons  Fort  Duquesne, 
73  ; peculations  of,  75 
Lincoln,  General,  275  ; surrenders 
at  Charleston,  315 
Literature  of  the  Revolution,  385 
Livingston,  William,  leads  New 
York  patriots,  126 ; his  sym- 
pathy with  Massachusetts  circu- 
lar, iso 

Local  prejudices  as  to  the  federal 
system,  233  et  seq. 

Locke’s  contract  theory,  117 
Long  Island,  battle  of,  240  et  scq. 
Loudon,  Earl  of,  51,  52 ; withdraws 
from  Louisburg,  56  ; recalled,  60 
Louisburg,  fall  of,  64 
Louisiana,  26 ; as  a Spanish  fron- 
tier, 152  ; and  Florida  lost  to  Eng- 
land, 307 

Loyalty  of  the  colonists,  20 
Lyman  at  Crown  Point,  50 
Lyttleton  quarrels  with  Cherokees, 
100 

Luzerne,  his  part  in  the  treaty  of 
Paris,  360 

Magna  Charta,  principles  of, 
1 35 

Macdonald,  Allan  and  Flora,  in 
North  Carolina,  222,  224 
Madison,  James,  calls  for  reprisal, 
188  ; opposes  the  use  of  the  word 
“ toleration  ” in  the  Virginia  de- 
claration of  rights,  224 
Mandamus  councillors,  169 ; their 
activity,  173 ; compelled  to  re- 
sign, 175 

Mansfield’s  plea  against  the  chart- 
ers, 148 

Marbois,  letter  of,  respecting  the 
fisheries  intercepted,  362 
Maria  Theresa,  2 

Marion,  Francis,  joins  Lyttleton’s 
expedition,  100  ; in  South  Caro- 
lina, 319 

Maryland  wants  general  congress, 
171 


I Massachusetts,  broadens  her  ground 
for  resistance,  139;  cautious  in 
defence  of  her  charter,  148;  cir- 
cular letter  of  her  assembly,  1 50  ; 
her  legislature  dissolved,  150;  her 
legislature  refuses  Bernard’s  sal- 
ary, 156 ; her  charter  attacked 
by  North,  169  ; Gage  removes  as- 
sembly to  Salem,  170;  chooses 
delegates  to  first  Continental  Con- 
gress, 173;  petitions  Congress  for 
authority  to  organize  her  govern- 
ment, 207  ; directed  to  choose  a 
house  of  representatives,  209,  381 
McCrea,  Jane,  story  of,  268 
Mecklenburg,  the  town  of,  194  ; de- 
clarations, 195 

Meigs,  Colonel,  destroys  English 
stores  at  Sag  Harbor,  267 
Merrill,  Benjamin,  leader  of  North 
Carolina  regulators,  159 
Mercer,  Hugh,  death  of,  259 
Methodist  Church,  the,  378 
Middle  States  at  the  close  of  the 
war,  379 

Military  control  of  colonies,  125 
Militia,  colonial,  42 
Ministers,  responsibility  of,  129 
Mirabeau  attacks  the  Landgrave  of 
Hesse  on  account  of  the  sale  of 
troops,  289 

Mississippi,  the,  as  a bond  of  union, 
22 

Monmouth,  battle  of,  296 
Montcalm,  character  of,  53 ; at 
Ticonderoga,  67 ; discourage- 
ments of,  76,  90  ; strength  of  his 
forces,  79  ; at  Quebec,  82  ; policy 
of,  85  ; desperate  condition  of  his 
army,  88  ; his  defeat  and  death, 
93,  95 

Montesquieu,  school  of,  14 
Montgomery  abandons  Fort  Lou- 
don, 100 ; death  of,  204 
Montmorency,  Falls  of,  conflict 
near,  85,  86 

Morris,  Robert,  raises  money  for 
Washington,  254;  his  success 
with  the  finances  of  the  Confed- 
eration, 328,  373 

Morristown,  Washington  establishes 
his  headquarters  at,  258 
Moultrie  joins  Lyttleton’s  expedi- 
tion, 100 

Murray,  General,  at  Quebec,  89; 
his  defence  of,  90 


INDEX 


409 


Mutiny  Act  modified,  loo 

Mutinies  in  the  American  army, 
327 

Mutiny  of  troops  at  Philadelphia 
allayed  by  funds  furnished  by 
Rochambeau,  344 

Navigation  Acts,  evasion  of,  118; 
character  of,  1 18,  124 ; enforce- 
ment of,  149 

Natchez  and  other  forts  captured  by 
Willing,  30(1 

Navy,  the  American,  during  the  | 
Revolution,  210,  371 

Netherlands,  position  of,  with  re- 
gard to  England,  352 

Newcastle  ministry,  39,  40  ; fall  of, 
108  ; coalition  of,  with  Bute,  127  ; 
its  fall,  127 

New  England,  shipping  interests  of, 
124 ; her  local  prejudice,  137 ; her 
plea  for  charter  rights,  138 ; her 
attitude  toward  ■'  Quebec  Act,” 
170,  171  ; her  passive  resistance 
to  Port  Act,  172 ; army,  char- 
acter of,  199;  at  Bunker  Hill, 
201  ; dwindles  away,  202 ; at  the 
close  of  the  war,  380 

New  Hampshire,  36;  Stamp  Act  in, 
134;  royal  authority  overthrown 
in,  207 

New  Jersey,  college  of  (see  Prince- 
ton) ; disavows  Ogden’s  luke- 
warmness, 139 ; wants  general 
congress,  171  ; adopts  a constitu- 
tion, 225 

New  Orleans  revolts  against  Spain, 
152 

Newport,  D’Estaing’s  expedition 
against,  a failure,  301 ; abandoned 
by  the  British,  310 

New  York  State,  42;  demands  free 
judiciary,  125 ; Stamp  Act  in, 
134;  her  boundary  claims,  152; 
her  proposition  for  a general  con- 
gress, 171  ; character  of  her  dele- 
gates to  first  continental  congress, 
173  ; refuses  to  give  full  power  to 
her  delegates,  226 

New  York  City,  the  Liberty  Tree 
conflict  in,  159 ; sends  back  tea- 
ship,  167  ; anomalous  condition 
of  affairs  in,  220 ; entered  by 
Charles  Lee,  221  ; held  by  the 
British,  224 ; strategic  impor- 
tance of,  at  the  opening  of  the 


I war,  239 ; fortifications  thrown 
up  by  Washington  around,  239; 
English  forces  landed  near,  240  ; 
evacuation  of,  377  ; population  of, 
379 

Niagara,  Fort,  27 ; importance  of, 
49 ; resists  the  English,  49  ; cap- 
tured by  Johnson,  80 
Non-importation  agreements,  161 
Norfolk  captured  by  the  Ameri- 
cans, 206 

North  becomes  prime  minister, 
154;  his  penal  acts,  168,  169,  170, 
179;  devises  a compromise,  181; 
attempts  conciliation,  216  ; min- 
istry, fall  of,  353 

North  Carolina,  regulators  in,  151  ; 
emigration  from,  152  ; battle  on 
the  Alamance,  159;  republic  of 
Watauga  in,  162 ; wants  general 
congress,  172 ; Tories  of,  pro- 
scribed, 207 

Officials  of  England  in  America, 
125 ; their  hostility  to  America, 
148,  149;  letters  of,  163,  164; 
compelled  to  resign,  175 
Ohio,  valley  of,  26,  45 
Oliver,  letters,  163  ; resigns  under 
compulsion,  175;  proposed  sav- 
age auxiliaries,  175 
Oriskany,  battle  of,  270 
Orleans,  isle  of,  83,  84 
Oswald,  engaged  to  communicate 
with  the  American  peace  com- 
missioners, 356 

Oswego,  captured  by  French,  53 ; 
recaptured,  70 

Otis,  James,  h.s  arguments  against 
writs  of  assistance,  125  ; on  the 
spirit  of  the  Constitution,  135  ; 
thinks  internal  and  external  tax- 
ation identical,  147  ; removed 
from  public  life  by  an  accident, 
155 

Paine,  Thomas,  his  “ Common 
Sense,”  213,  387 

Parliament,  supremacy  of,  118,  121  ; 
admitted  by  Stamp  Act  Con- 
gress, 138,  140  ; secured  by  George 
III.  as  a principle,  145 ; corrupt 
elections  and,  149  ; reasserted  in 
the  refusal  to  repeal  revenue 
laws,  154 ; passes  penal  laws 


410 


INDEX 


against  America,  168  ; adopts  con- 
ciliatory measures,  290 
Parties  in  America,  158,  170 
Partisan  warfare,  59 
Patriotism  in  America,  135,  139, 
170 

Patronage  in  England,  146 
Paxton  letters,  163 
Peace  commissioners,  American, 
355 

Pelham  ministry,  39 
Penal  acts  demanded  by  the  Tories, 
179,  180 

Penn,  Richard,  196;  arrival  of, 
210 

Pennsylvania,  43 ; university  of, 
132;  the  proprietary  government 
of,  ended,  225,  226  ' 

Philadelphia,  prevents  landing  of 
tea,  167 ; and  the  Boston  Port 
Act,  172 ; Howe’s  army  at,  281  ; 
occupied  by  Cornwallis,  294  ; 
evacuated,  295;  Arnold  in  com- 
mand of,  300  ; population  of,  at 
the  close  of  the  war,  379 
Philip  V.  of  Spain,  13 
Pitt,  William  (the  elder),  5,  6 ; plan 
for  the  French  war,  40,  78  ; min- 
istry of  Newcastle  and,  60  ; awak- 
ens American  enthusiasm,  65  ; 
rejects  Choiseul’s  offer  of  peace, 
10S ; resigns  with  Newcastle,  108  ; 
relations  to  the  Whigs,  128  ; holds 
American  taxation  unconstitu- 
tional, 39  ( see  Chatham) 
Pittsburgh,  founding  of,  74 
Point  Pleasant,  skirmish  between 
the  Indians  and  frontiersmen  at, 
173 


Presbyterians,  disabilities  in  Ire- 
land, 1 7 ; as  patriots,  1 74 
Press,  freedom  of,  3;  secured  by 
Wilkes,  130 

Price,  Richard,  his  pamphlet  on 
liberty,  211 

Prideaux  killed  at  Niagara,  80 
Princeton  College,  132,  380 
Princeton,  Cornwallis  in,  248  ; bat- 
tle of,  257 

Prisoners,  Howe  consents  to  an  ex- 
change of,  260 

Privateering  authorized  by  Con- 
gress, 214  ; by  Americans,  372 
Providence,  a,  in  history  clearly 
evident  in  the  origins  of  America, 
348 

Provincial  and  colonist,  118, 131, 108 
Prussia.  See  Frederick  the  Great 
Public  meetings,  inaugurated,  157 ; 

in  New  York,  171,  174 
Pulaski,  264 

Putnam,  Israel,  at  Ticonderoga, 
66  ; in  Boston,  187  ; at  Bunker 
Hill,  200 

Quakers,  their  attitude  concerning 
independence,  174,  379 
Quebec,  disposition  of  French  forces 
near,  82  ; topography  of,  83  ; sur- 
render of,  95  ; Murray’s  defence 
of,  96,  97 ; relief  of,  97  ; North’s 
act  concerning,  169  ; failure  of  the 
campaign  against,  204 
Quebec  Act,  object  of,  177 
Quesnay,  14 

Quincy,  Josiah,  counsel  for  English 
soldiers,  158 


Political  theories,  117,  122 
Political  writers  of  the  Revolution, 
386 

Politics,  liberal,  5,  139 
Pontiac,  truce  with,  101 ; conspir- 
acy of,  102;  his  rebellion  sup- 
pressed, 103 

Population  of  the  colonies,  9 ; of  the 
United  States  after  the  war,  378 
et  seq. 

Port  Act,  effect  in  colonies,  172 
Post,  Frederick,  at  Easton,  73,  101 
Postage,  reduction  of,  133 
“ Presbyterian  junto  ” of  New 
York,  171 

Presbyterian  Church,  the,  in  Amer- 
ica, 379 


Rationalism  in  England,  5 
Rawdon,  Lord,  his  cruelties  in  the 
colonies,  334 ; defeats  Greene  at 
Hobkirk  Hill,  335 
Regulators  of  North  Carolina,  151 
Religion,  revival  of,  5 
Religious  liberty  in  England,  3 
Representation  and  legislation,  147 
Representation  and  taxation.  See 
Taxation 

Requisitions  on  the  colonies,  121 
Revolution  in  continental  politics, 
2 ; in  constitutional  theory  (see 
Constitutional  revolution)  of  1688 
in  America,  10;  American,  char- 
acter of.  382;  changes  resulting 
from,  382 


INDEX 


411 


Rhode  Island  ready  to  unite  with 
Massachusetts  to  resist  Port  Act, 
173  ; elects  delegates  to  first  con- 
tinental congress,  173 
Riedesel’s  memoirs  of  the  retreat  of 
Burgoyne,  S79 

Richmond  burned  by  Arnold,  329 
Rittenhouse,  213 

Rochambeau  enters  Newport  with 
French  troops,  324 ; furnishes 
funds  for  the  American  troops, 
314 

Rockingham,  leader  of  new  Whigs, 
128 ; his  ministry,  139 ; his  posi- 
tion on  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act, 
140;  fall  of  his  first  ministry, 
142  ; helplessness  of  his  followers, 
149, 179  ; declares  the  act  of  Par- 
liament a declaration  of  war,  180  ; 
ministry,  the,  354 ; ministry, 
work  of  the,  358 
Rodrigues,  Hortales  & Co.,  262 
Rogers,  near  Lake  George,  55,  59 ; 
destroys  Abenaki  village,  82 ; oc- 
cupies Detroit,  101 
Roman  Catholics,  disabilities,  15, 
16,  19 

Rossbach,  battle  of,  63,  64 
Rousseau,  teachings  of,  14 
Ryswick,  peace  of,  2 

Saint  Leger  attacks  Fort  Stanwix, 
269 

Saint  Lawrence,  French  in  the  val- 
ley of,  23 

Saint  Louis,  settled  by  the  French, 
152 

Saint  Lucia  seized  by  the  English, 

313 

Saint  Simon’s  army  landed  in  Vir- 
ginia, 341 

Sainte-Foy,  battle  of,  96,  97 
Salem  made  provincial  capital  of 
Massachusetts,  170 ; powder  at, 
seized,  183 

Savannah  besieged  by  D’Estaing  un- 
successfully, 314 ; evacuation  of. 
366 

Schuyler,  General,  invades  Canada, 
203 ; ' sends  reinforcements  to 
Washington  in  New  Jersey,  247  ; 
replaced  by  Gates  in  command  of 
the  department  of  the  North, 
267 ; fine  strategy  of,  against 
Burgoyne,  268 ; hands  over  his 
command  to  General  Gates,  276 


Seven  Years’  War,  62,  63,  76,  104 ; 
effect  in  Europe,  112 ; effect  in 
America,  112,  113 

Shirley,  at  Niagara,  49 ; his  plan  to 
tax  America,  51  ; removal  of,  51 
Slave-trade  in  America,  9 ; increase 
of,  133 ; Virginia  revolutions 
concerning,  174 

Shelburne,  secretary  for  colonies 
in  Chatham-Grafton  ministry, 
143  ; deprived  of  power  in  Chat- 
ham-Grafton ministry,  148;  with- 
drawsfrom  it,  154,  179  ; ministry, 
the,  358 ; determination  of,  to  di- 
vide the  Americans  from  their 
allies,  363  ; fall  of,  367 
Shelby,  Evan,  defeats  the  Indians 
at  Chickamauga,  306 
Slaves  in  the  Southern  States  at 
the  close  of  the  war,  378 
Slavery  after  the  war,  383 
Smith,  Adam,  a friend  of  the  colon- 
ists, 211 

South  Carolina,  seizure  of  tea  in, 
167 ; proposes  union  for  resist- 
ance, 171  ; royal  authority  over- 
thrown in,  207 ; Cornwallis  de- 
vastates, 317 ; opposed  to  the 
plan  of  supporting  the  army, 
233 ; at  the  close  of  the  war, 
378 

Sons  of  Liberty,  170 
Spain  declares  war  on  England, 
110;  her  losses,  110;  her  view 
of  Louisiana,  152  ; revolt  of  New 
Orleans  against,  152  ; refuses  to 
join  France  in  an  American  alli- 
ance, 287  ; in  a serious  crisis,  304 ; 
joins  the  alliance,  305  ; desires  to 
regain  Gibraltar,  351 
Stamp  Act,  Jenkinson  proposes, 
131  ; revenue  from,  131  ; passage 
of,  133  ; declared  illegal  in  Amer- 
ica, 134  ; its  reception  in  Amer- 
ica, 134  ; repealed,  140 
Stanwix,  at  Oneida  portage,  70 ; 

occupies  the  frontier,  80 
Stark,  John,  at  Ticonderoga,  66 
State  governments,  success  of,  284 
Staten  Island,  the  only  available 
landing-place  for  the  English  at 
New  York,  239  ; conference  on, 
between  Howe  and  a committee 
of  Congress,  242 

Stark,  John,  at  Boston,  187,  254; 
victory  of,  at  Bennington,  271 


412 


INDEX 


Sterling,  Lord,  retreats  from  Prince-  I 
ton  before  Cornwallis,  SIS 
Steuben,  Baron,  made  inspector- 
general  of  the  American  army  in 
place  of  Conway,  293 ; raises  an 
army  in  Virginia,  339 
Stony  Point,  battle  of,  277  ; cap- 
ture of,  309 

Sumpter,  resistance  of,  in  South 
Carolina,  318 

Tariff  laid  by  Parliament  on 
American  imports,  145 
Taxation  of  colonies  by  England, 
41,  51,  118  ; internal  and  external, 
119 ; and  representation,  121, 
134,  136,  138  ; legal  argument 
for,  121.  122;  officials  plead  for, 
125,  163 ; held  unconstitutional 
by  English  liberals,  139 ; De- 
claratory Act  concerning,  140 ; 
revenue  to  be  raised  by,  144;  by 
import  duties,  145 ; of  tea,  145 ; 
and  revenue  discussed  by  Otis, 
147 

Tea,  tax  on,  166;  measures  to  pre- 
vent landing  of,  167 
Theories  of  colonists,  12,  147 
Thomas,  General,  at  Montreal,  204 
Ticonderoga,  held  by  French,  66 ; 
evacuated  by  them,  81  ; seizure 
of,  by  Ethan  Allen,  189 ; taken 
by  Burgoyne,  268  ; recaptured  by 
the  Americans,  276 
Tories,  the  new,  3,  109,  143 ; 

American,  135  ; called  loyalists, 
170  ; design  to  enforce  the  Penal 
Acts,  179;  in  North  Carolina 
proscribed,  207  ; treatment  of,  at 
New  York,  239;  hung  in  Phila- 
delphia, pardoned  in  New  Jersey, 
300 

Townshend,  Charles,  overthrows 
Rockingham  ministry,  142 
Trade,  regulation  of,  120,  133  ; dim- 
inution of  English  and  American, 
166 

Treaty  of  Paris,  109;  stipulations 
of.  111 ; unpopular  in  England, 

in 

Trenton,  battle  of,  253 
Trinity,  old,  burned,  242 
Trumbull,  Governor  of  Connecticut, 
207,  386 

Tryon  attacks  North  Carolina  reg- 
ulators, 151 ; at  the  battle  on  the 


Alamance,  159;  action  of,  at  New 
York,  239 

Tucker  opposes  North’s  penal  acts, 
168 

Turgot,  14 ; Stamp  Act,  143 ; his 
death,  148 

Ulster,  migration  from,  16 
Union,  tendencies  to,  7 
United  States,  the  date  of  the  legal 
existence  of  the,  229 ; at  the  close 
of  the  Revolution,  378  et  seq. 
Utrecht,  Peace  of,  2 

Valley  Forge,  Washington’s  army 
in  winter  quarters  at,  281 
Vaudreuil,  41 ; braggadocio  of,  76 
Vaughan,  362 
Venango,  37 

Vergennes  refuses  to  consider  the 
English  demands  in  the  treaty, 
361 

Vergor  in  Acadia,  4S 
Vermont,  36;  conflict  between  the 
Green  Mountain  Boys  and  the 
sheriff  in,  182 

Versailles,  the  peace  of,  the  treaty, 
364 ; secret  clause  in,  305  ; the 
agents  of,  365  et  seq.  ; final  ratifi- 
cation of,  368 

Virginia,  42 ; reception  of  Stamp 
Act  by,  134;  circular  of  her  Leg- 
islature, 151  ; claims  Kentucky 
and  the  Northwest,  152  ; her  As- 
sembly dissolved  by  Botetourt, 
155  ; organizes  intercolonial  com- 
mittees of  correspondence,  162  ; 
her  support  of  Boston  and  prog- 
ress toward  independence*  172; 
Legislature  prorogued  by  Dun- 
more,  172 ; denounces  writs  of 
assistance  and  becomes  a State, 
225,  381 
Voltaire,  13 

Walpole,  ministry  of,  4 
War  between  England  and  France, 
52 

Warrants,  general,  130 
Warren,  Joseph,  killed  at  Bunker 
Hill,  201 

Washington,  George,  at  Fort  Ne- 
cessity, 37 ; at  Braddock’s  field, 
44 ; at  Cumberland,  71  ; at  Fort 
Duquesne,  73 ; his  sympathy  with 
Massachusetts’s  circular,  150  ; a 


INDEX 


413 


leader  in  Virginia,  155 ; his  family 
and  early  life,  197  et  seq.  ; ap- 
pointed commander-in-chief,  199; 
at  Boston,  199 ; at  Cambridge 
202 ; persists  in  his  Fabian  policy, 
214 ; the  sole  respecter  of  Con- 
gress, 236  ; his  supporters,  237  ; 
throws  up  fortifications  around 
New  York,  239 ; retreats  from 
Long  Island,  241  ; attempts  to 
arrest  the  flight  of  his  troops  at 
Bap’s  Bay,  241 ; his  headquarters 
at  Morrisania,  241  ; retreats  from 
New  York,  242 ; retreats  across 
the  Harlem,  243  ; covers  Greene’s 
retreat,  245 ; invested  with  the 
powers  of  a dictator,  247  ; retreats 
across  New  Jersey,  247  ; masterly 
retreat  over  the  Delaware,  248 ; 
effective  force  of,  at  the  opening 
of  the  second  campaign,  266 ; 
army  at  Brandywine,  272 ; cabai 
formed  against,  282  ; collapse  of 
the  cabal,  293  ; description  of  the 
situation  by,  302 ; pleads  for  long 
enlistments,  303  ; his  foresight, 
323 ; holds  his  communications 
with  New  England  intact,  341 ; ■ 
deceives  Clinton  and  marches 
South,  343 ; revisits  Mount  Ver- 
non, 344 ; allays  the  discontent 
of  the  army  after  the  war,  375  ; 
resigns  his  command  to  Congress, 
377  ; outlines  the  future  policy  of 
the  country,  387 

Wayne,  General,  conduct  of,  at 
Monmouth,  298 ; captures  Stony 
Point,  309 


Wesley,  John,  5,  60,  190 

West,  jurisdiction  of  lands  in,  137 ; 

colonization  forbidden,  137 
Western  lands,  claims  to,  by  the 
States,  235 

Whigs,  policy  of,  3,  118  ; division 
into  old  and  new,  123  ; name 
American,  132  ; attack  Chatham- 
Grafton  ministry,  145 
Whitefield,  preaching  of,  60 
Whitefield,  on  the  stamp  act,  134 
White  Plains,  the  battle  of,  243 
William  and  Mary,  College  of,  132 
Wilkes  and  freedom  of  the  press, 
130,  163 

Winslow  in  Acadia,  48 
Witherspoon,  inspires  the  Constitu- 
tion of  New  Jersey,  225 ; influence 
of,  in  the  adoption  of  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence,  229,  387 
Wolfe,  character  of,  61,  79 ; at 
Louisburg,  64  ; defeat  at  the  falls 
of  the  Montmorency,  86,  87 ; ill- 
ness before  Quebec,  87 ; his  move- 
ments at  Cape  Kouge,  90,  91 ; 
lands  and  scales  the  heights  of 
Abraham,  92 ; prepares  for  bat- 
tle, 93,  94  ; his  victory  and  death, 
94,  95;  effects  of  his  victory,  115 
Writs  of  assistance,  124 
Wyoming,  seizure  by  Connecticut, 
162  ; the  massacre  of,  293 

Yale  College,  132  ; 386 
“Yankee  Doodle,”  385 
Yorktown,  invested  by  the  French 
and  American  troops,  345  ; Corn- 
wallis’s surrender  at,  337 


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THE  AMERICAN  HISTORY  SERIES 

A series  of  5 volumes  containing  Connected  History  of  the  United 
States  from  the  Discovery  of  America  to  the  present  day,  divided 
into  five  distinct  epochs,  each  of  which  is  treated  by  a writer  of 
eminence  and  of  special  authority  in  this  field.  The  volumes  are 
sold  separately,  and  each  contains  maps  and  plans. 


The  Colonial  Era — 1492=1756. 

By  GEORGE  PARK  FISHER,  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History 
in  Yale  University.  !2>no,  348  pages. 


The  French  War  and  the  Revolution — 1756=1783. 

By  WILLIAM  M.  SLOANE , Professor  of  History  in  Columbia 
University.  12 mo,  409  pages . 


The  Making  of  the  Nation  — 1783=1817. 

By  General  FRANCIS  A.  IVALKER,  President  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Institute  of  Technology.  i2tno,  314  pages. 


The  Middle  Period  — 1857=1858. 

By  JOHN  W.  BURGESS,  Professor  of  History , Political  Science , 
and  International  Law  in  Columbia  University . i2mo. 


The  Civil  War  and  Reconstruction  — 1858=1877. 

By  JOHN  IV.  BURGESS,  Professor  of  History,  Political  Science, 
and  International  Law  in  Columbia  University.  i2mo. 

The  New  York  Sun. — “The  ‘American  History  Series,’  now  in  the 
course  of  publication  by  the  Scribners,  constitutes  one  of  the  most  valuable 
contributions  as  yet  made  to  the  connected  history  of  the  United  States,  and 
is  certain  to  find  a place  in  every  city  and  town  library,  and  among  the  pre- 
scribed text  book  of  our  colleges  and  schools.” 


THE  COLONIAL  ERA. 


By  GEORGE  P.  FISHER,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical 
History,  Yale  University.  i2>no,  $1.25. 

This  initial  volume  of  the  American  History  Series  carries 
the  narrative  down  to  1756,  thus  embracing  the  beginnings  oi 
the  decisive  struggle  for  dominion  in  America.  To  this  point 


the  Colonies  are  treated  one  by  one.  Though  brief,  the  narra- 
tive is  not  a mere  sketch  ; not  only  do  the  political  events  have 
prominent  place,  but  manners,  customs,  and  phases  of  intel- 
lectual progress  are  noticed. 

Contents  : I.  Physical  Geography.  II.  The  Indians.  III.  Discoveries 
and  Settlements  Prior  to  the  First  Permanent  English  Colony.  IV.  Virginia 
Until  1688.  V.  Maryland  Until  1688.  VI.  The  Carolinas  Until  1688.  VII.  New 
England  to  the  Planting  of  Connecticut  in  1636.  VIII.  New  England  from  the 
Planting  of  Connecticut  in  1636  to  168S.  IX.  New  York  to  1688.  X.  New  Jersey 
to  1688.  XI.  Pennsylvania  to  1688.  XII.  The  Effect  on  the  Colonies  of  the 
Revolution  of  1688.  XIII.  New  England  from  1688  to  1756.  XIV.  New 
York  from  1688  to  1756.  XV.  New  Jersey  from  168S  to  1756.  XVI.  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Delaware  from  1688  to  1756.  XVII.  Maryland  from  1688  to  1756. 
XVIII.  Virginia  from  1688  to  1756.  XIX.  The  Carolinas  from  1688  to  1756. 
XX.  Georgia  from  Its  Settlement  to  1756.  XXI.  Literature  in  the  Colonies. 
Appendix— I.  Chronological  Tables.  II.  Bibliographical  Note. 

The  Critic. — “ Professor  Fisher's  work  shows  the  hand  of  a master  still 
in  its  strength.  He  seems  to  have  a positive  genius  for  clear,  compact,  and 
readable  condensation.” 

Pres.  C.  K.  Adams,  University  of  Wisconsin.  — ‘‘  The  best  of  what  we 
know  concerning  the  age.” 


THE  FRENCH  WAR  AND  THE  REVOLUTION. 

By  WILLIAM  M.  SLOANE , Ph.D.,  Professor  of  History  in  Prince- 
ton University.  i2mo,  $1.25. 

The  French  and  Indian  War  and  the  Revolution  are  so 
closely  related  logically,  as  well  as  chronologically,  that  their 
treatment  as  one  epoch  is  eminently  fitting,  and  Professor 
Sloane’s  volume  has  accordingly  the  unity  of  Professor  Fisher's. 
In  addition  to  being  a popular  narrative  of  the  events  of  the  era 
which  succeeded  the  Colonial,  it  is  a thoroughly  philosophical 
account  of  political  causes,  and  effects  and  a picture  of  the 
times  as  well,  exhibiting  the  social  and  private  life,  as  well  as 
the  public  feeling  of  the  Colonies  during  the  agitated  period 
which  closed  the  birth  of  a new  nation. 

Contents:  I.  The  English  People  in  the  Eighteenth  Century,  1688-1756. 
II.  Institutions  of  the  English  Colonies,  16S8-1756.  III.  The  English  and 
French  in  North  America,  1688-1756.  IV.  Outbreak  of  the  French  and  Indian 
War,  1755-1756.  V.  Successes  of  the  French  and  Indians,  1756-1758.  VI.  Suc- 
cesses of  the  English  and  Americans,  1758-1759.  VII.  Niagara  and  Quebec, 
vin.  The  Plains  of  Abraham,  1759-1760.  IX.  The  Peace  of  Paris,  1760-1763. 
X.  A New  Issue  in  Constitutional  Government,  1760-1762.  XI.  The  Stamp 
Act,  1762-1766.  XII.  Conflict  of  Two  Thrones,  1766-176S.  XIII.  The  Con- 


slitutional  Revolution,  1770-1774.  XIV.  Resistance  to  Oppression,  1773-1774. 
XV.  The  Beginning  of  Hostilities,  1774-1775.  XVI.  The  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill, 
February-July,  1775.  XVII.  Overthrow  of  Royal  Authority,  1775-1776.  XVIII. 
The  Movement  for  Independence,  January-June,  1776.  XIX.  Independence 
and  Confederation,  July-August,  1776.  XX.  The  Loss  of  New  York  City, 
April-December,  1776.  XXI.  Trenton  and  Princeton,  December,  1776.  XXII. 
Bennington  and  the  Brandywine,  1777.  XXIII.  Saratoga  and  the  French 
Alliance,  September-December,  1777.  XXIV.  Recognition  of  American  Inde- 
pendence, January-July,  1778.  XXV.  Evil  Effect  of  the  Foreign  Alliance, 
1778-1779.  XXVI.  Camden  and  King’s  Mountain,  1779-1780.  XXVII.  The 
Southern  Invasion  Repelled,  1780-1781.  XXVIII.  Yorktown,  1781.  XXIX. 
The  Peace  of  Versailles,  1782-1783.  XXX.  Weakness  and  Strength.  Appen- 
dix— I.  Chronological  Table.  II.  Bibliography. 

Prof.  Moses  Colt  Tvler,  Cornell  University. — “ I have  read  very  care- 
fully, and  with  great  interest  and  pleasure,  Prof.  Sloane’s  book  on  1 The  French 
War  and  Revolution.’  Being  a field  in  which  I have  done  special  work,  I have 
been  gratified  to  find  my  own  conclusions  confirmed  by  a scholar  so  discrimin- 
ating and  so  thorough.  The  book  seems  to  me  to  furnish  new  and  important 
help  to  the  study  and  understanding  of  the  great  period  of  which  it  treats." 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  NATION. 

By  General  FRANCIS  A.  WALKER , President  0/ the  Massachusetts 
Institute  of  Technology,  nmo , $ r.2 5. 

General  Walker’s  volume  deals  with  the  era  of  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution  and  the  subsequent  welding  together  of  the 
different  States  which  had  hitherto  been  distinct  and  inde- 
pendent communities.  It  begins  with  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 
tion and  ends  with  the  conclusion  of  Madison’s  second  adminis- 
tration. 

Contents:  I.  The  Confederation,  1783-1787.  II.  The  Constitutional 
Convention  of  1787.  III.  The  Constitution  as  Submitted  to  the  People.  IV. 
Ratification  and  the  Inauguration  of  the  Government.  V.  Washington’s  First 
Term.  VI.  Washington's  First  Term— Continued.  VII.  Washington’s 
Second  Term.  VIII.  The  Administration  of  John  Adams.  IX.  Jefferson’s 
First  Term.  X.  Jefferson’s  Second  Term.  XI.  The  Controversy  with  Eng- 
land. XII.  The  War  of  1812-15.  XIII.  The  Civil  Events  of  Madison’s  Ad- 
ministration. Appendix — I.  The  Electoral  Vote  in  Detail,  1789-1876.  II. — 1. 
Population  at  the  First  Four  Censuses  ; 2.  Net  Ordinary  Receipts  and  Ex- 
penditures and  Disbursements  on  Account  of  the  Public  Debt,  1790-1817.  III. 
The  Cabinets  of  Washington,  John  Adams,  Jefferson,  and  Madison,  1789  to 
March  3,  1817  ; Bibliography. 

The  Sunday  School  Times. — " Scholarship,  patriotism  chastened  by  a 
rich  historic  sense,  clever  character  sketching,  a style  lively  but  always  digni- 
fied, a bibliography  sufficiently  full,  a good  index,  useful  tables,  and  clear 
maps,  which  betray  the  author’s  long  training  as  our  national  census  taker,  all 
unite  in  this  volume. 


I.ondon  Spectator.—"  Nothing  better  lias  been  written  on  American 
affairs  in  the  era  between  tire  Presidency  of  Washington  and  that  of  Monroe. 

The  Nation. — “ We  can  not  hesitate  to  commend  this  book  as  marked  by 
a pure  and  lively  style,  a sound  but  chastened  patriotism,  and  a recognition  at 
once  scholarly  and  practical  of  that  transcendent  idea,  the  1 Commonwealth  of 
Nations.’  ” 


THE  MIDDLE  PERIOD. 

By  JOHN  W.  BURGESS \ Ph.D LL.D.y  Professor  of  History , Politic 
cal  Science  and  Constitutional  Law  in  Columbia  University . i2mo, 
$t'75' 

Professor  Burgess  has  made  an  important  contribution  to 
American  History  in  this  thoroughly  original  work.  It  is  not 
only  written  exclusively  from  the  sources,  but  the  view  it  takes 
of  the  great  slavery  controversy,  of  which  it  is  at  once  the 
chronicle  and  commentary,  distinguishes  it  among  the  histories 
of  the  period  for  absolute  impartiality  and  a luminous  apprecia- 
tion of  the  motives  and  conduct  of  both  sides.  It  is  written 
from  the  judicial  standpoint  of  the  constitutional  lawyer,  rather 
than  that  of  the  politician  or  the  philanthropist,  and  giving 
chapter  and  verse  substantiation  of  its  every  position,  will  cert- 
ainly revolutionize  public  opinion  on  several  vital  particulars, 
with  the  incidental  result  of  dignifying  the  too  often  belittled 
figures  of  this  important  period  of  our  national  history,  in  a 
way  that  cannot  fail  to  appeal  to  the  reader’s  patriotism. 


IN  PREPARA  TION. 

THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  RECONSTRUCTION. 

By  JOHN  IV.  BURGESS,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 

The  volumes  of  the  series  will  be  sent  post-paid  at  the  given 
price.  Correspondence  in  regard  to  class  use  is  cordially  invited. 


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